


Behind Closed Doors

by hunter_king



Series: Supernatural - J2 [8]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bottom Jared Padalecki, M/M, Schmoop, Slash, Swearing, Top Jensen Ackles, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 23:47:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 38,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16732968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunter_king/pseuds/hunter_king
Summary: Jensen Ackles is the hottest quarterback there ever was. Jared Padalecki is the most adorable guy in the school. However, no one except the girls really care, seeing as how he doesn't really talk to many of the men in school. Being openly gay isn't really something that helps your status with the guys. When these two boys' worlds collide due to an English project, chaos ensues. Jensen doesn't like working, and Jared gets tired of him showing up late and doing nothing. After a few beers and a project-related movie ends in heated kisses and some heavy petting, both men are forced to face their true feelings about each other, threatening to change their lives forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt Fill for Imogen_lily  
> Written for the spn_j2_bigbang in June 2012  
> Beta'd by slightlysatanic  
> Art by xloz_91x (link not found...sorry)

“Walk it off, Ackles,” the coach hollered as Jensen pushed himself to his feet after taking a pretty bad hit from an opposing scrimmage player. The guy hated him for some reason and he always made it a point to knock Jensen around every chance he got. It probably had something to do with the fact that Jensen was the captain and this player thought he should have that title because he was older, but Jensen tried to ignore him as much as possible. Sure, Jensen was usually pretty good at dodging his charges, but today he was a little distracted. Jensen had just gotten his midterm grade in his English class and he was failing. All of those damn book reports that he’d neglected to do were finally catching up with him, and the coach was going to pissed when he found out. If Jensen didn’t get his grades up by the end of the semester, he was going to be benched, and they actually had a decent shot at getting to the playoffs this season, so Jensen couldn’t let that happen. After all, he was the best player on the team. Without him, the Timberwolves weren’t going to get very far the rest of the season.

As he jogged back to the line-up, his friend Tom Welling matched his stride, frowning at his friend before he gave his head a small shake. “What’s on your mind, Ackles?” he asked, his voice holding a hint of concern. “You’re playing like shit out here. We have a game in three days, Jen, and we need you at your best, one hundred percent performing ability. So, whatever it is that’s bothering you, I’d suggest you deal with it before tomorrow’s practice, man.” Shaking his head, Tom ran in front of Jensen, grabbing a drink from the cooler before he headed to the line-up for their next play. He loved Jensen like a brother, but he wouldn’t hesitate to suggest that they put David in as a replacement if Jensen couldn’t get his shit together.

Once Jensen had made it to the other players, he bent at the waist, hands on his thighs as he called in the huddle. “All right,” he mumbled softly, eyes scanning the field in front of him. David was the biggest problem they had right now and Jensen knew that he was going to be coming after him to try to get another sack. “Tom, I want you to go long, keep an eye on me at about the 20 and wait for the pass. Mike, I need you to block David. Don’t let him get through you no matter what he does. Everyone else focus on your opponent. We can’t let them keep us from that end zone on Friday, and we’re not going to let them keep us from it today.” Rising to his full height, Jensen clapped his hands together. “Break!” he called, shoving his mouth piece between his teeth and biting into the rubber guard. If David wanted to play rough, well, Jensen was more than able to do the same. 

Stepping up behind his teammate, Jensen leaned down once more, hands at the ready to catch the ball when the time was right. “Blue 42, blue 42, set, hike!” he yelled, catching the ball and taking a few steps back as he raised his arm and got ready for the throw. Unfortunately, just as he was about to let the ball fly, he saw David shove Mike so hard he nearly did a backflip before hitting the ground. Jensen quickly changed his plans for the play. He tucked the ball into his side protectively and took off at a dead run, not willing to let anyone get in his way. Jensen had an advantage when it came to running the ball because he was one of the fastest players on the team. If he hadn’t been drafted as the quarterback because of his mean arm, he definitely would have snagged the position as receiver without a doubt. The end zone was in view and Jensen could practically taste his victory, giving one last pump of his legs before he crossed that line, tossing the ball onto the ground and throwing his hands up in the air triumphantly.

David purposely knocked his shoulder against Jensen’s roughly as he walked off to hit the showers as they had been instructed to do, glaring at the younger man. It was no secret that he hated Jensen’s guts; the kid got everything handed to him on a silver platter as far as David was concerned. As a freshman, Jensen came into the school and was instantly picked up as the first string quarterback, a position David had been aiming for, and he’d managed to keep his title these last four years. Now they were both seniors because David had been held back a year, and David was _still_ second string. He rarely even saw the field unless they were practicing and he blamed Jensen for that. One of these days, he was going to give the guy what he deserved. 

When he was finished with his shower, Jensen quickly headed into Coach Morgan’s office, clearing his throat to get the older man’s attention. “Hey Coach, can I talk to you for a second?” Jensen asked, smiling when he was invited into the office. As soon as he was seated, Jensen leaned forward in the chair, rubbing his sweaty palms against his jeans. “So…I just needed to let you know that I’m failing English,” he explained, practically wincing at the expression on the coach’s face. “I have until the end of the semester to get my grades up, or they’re going to force you to bench me. Right before the playoffs start, can you believe that?!”

Although he hated hearing that his star player was in danger of being benched, Jeffrey couldn’t help but be a little pissed off that they were going to force Jensen to miss the playoffs just because of one class. Sure, education was important and all that sappy, educational shit, but Jensen’s future was football. Who the hell cared if he got a C average in English?! No one would care once Jensen had gone pro, that was for sure! Still, the high school administrator signed his checks, so Jeffrey had to play by his rules. “Yeah, I can believe it,” he mumbled. “Those pricks don’t give two shits about our football team, and they’ll bench you the moment you don’t make the grades.” Sighing, he leaned on his desk, one hand pressing against his forehead as he tried to think of a solution to this new problem. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

That was the million dollar question. Jensen had no clue what he was going to do about his grades, because with practice and hanging out with the team, he didn’t have time to study like the nerds who had no lives. Those were the kind of people who sat around and took more notes than Jensen had ever taken in his entire school career. “I have no idea,” he mumbled with a small shake of his head. “There’s this big project coming up and Mrs. Smith said we can pick our own partners for it, so I was thinking that I’d grab a smart kid who didn’t mind doing most of the work.” He had a few people in mind, but he’d have to go home later and think on it some more. After all, he needed to pick the smartest kid in the class if he wanted to bring his grade up to at least a C average. It was going to be hard seeing as how he was failing right now, but with the perfect partner, Jensen knew he could pull this off.

A wide smile came to Jeffrey’s lips when Jensen revealed his plan to him, the older man definitely proud of Jensen’s thought process. He kind of saw Jensen as his own flesh and blood because the kid was always on the field or in the gym working for his team, so he felt like a proud father in that moment. “I like the way you’re thinking,” he admitted with a nod. “Just make sure you don’t miss any practices in the near future, Jensen. As you already know, David’s been gunning for your spot. And although I see you almost like a son, I’m ultimately going to make the best decision for the team, even if it means putting you on the bench.”

The thing Jensen loved most about Coach Morgan was that he cared about the educational system about as much as Jensen did. Football always came first in both their minds and Jensen wasn’t going to let his coach down. “Don’t worry, I won’t miss any practices,” he assured the older man as he stood, grabbing his gym bag and hefting it over his shoulder. “I know David’s been trying to get me benched, even if it means breaking a bone in my body, or injuring me in a different way, and I’m not going to let that happen. _I’m_ the first string quarter back, and I’m not giving the position up without a fight.” With that assurance, Jensen headed out of the office and towards the parking lot, noticing that the sun was already starting to set in the sky. He’d been here a lot later than he’d anticipated; his brother was going to be pissed when he got home.

Ever since their parents had passed away, Josh had been taking care of the house and his siblings. When Jensen or Mackenzie were late and neglected to check in, Josh got angry, and Jensen knew there was going to be a lecture waiting for him when he walked through the door. He _hated_ Josh’s lectures because they were long, boring, and often they made Jensen face the truth about their lives now that their parents were gone. They were all each other had left, and Josh would always manage to slip in something about what might happen if one of them got into some serious trouble or were hurt. It always made Jensen feel bad for not checking in, but it never seemed to stop him from doing it time and time again. Jensen wasn’t doing it on purpose or anything, but football practice was his life and when he was on the field, in the gym, or in the locker rooms, Josh and Mackenzie were the last things on his mind. Especially now that David had stepped up his game and was shooting for his position. 

Every waking moment for Jensen had to be about football and if it wasn’t, Jensen forced himself to think about the sport. There was no room for error where football was concerned in Jensen’s mind. Josh and Mackenzie understood that about Jensen, but that didn’t mean they actually cared. And Jensen couldn’t blame them too much because it was true; they were all alone and they needed to take care of each other. But sometimes, Jensen just wished he could be a normal teenager and not have to check in with his big brother every five minutes.

Quickly, Jensen pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his gym bag and shot a text to Josh letting him know that he was all right, and that he’d just gotten caught up with practice. It still wouldn’t get him off the hook, but at least it might lessen the heat – and length – of the lecture Josh had planned. Nevertheless, Jensen had a fifteen minute drive from the school to his house to prepare for the tongue lashing he was going to get once he walked through that door, and to also contemplate how he was going to break the news that he was failing a class. Hell, the more he thought about it, the more he was leaning towards not telling Josh about his English grade at all. It would only make the older man angrier and Jensen didn’t want to burden his brother with his problems. Besides, he was handling it, so there was no need to get Josh worked up over nothing. 

Sure enough, Jensen got reamed almost as soon as he got in the door. Josh hadn’t even given him a chance to get his shoes off before he was yelling at him. “Jensen, you can’t just stay out all day and not let me or Mackenzie know where you are!” Josh scolded as he grabbed a plate from the cupboard and started filling it with pasta. “I’ve been worried sick about you, Jensen! You said you were going to be home _two hours_ ago, and I didn’t even get as much as a phone call from you!” He hated that he had to treat Jensen like a child, but he needed to get through to the younger Ackles. Sighing, he pulled the plate from the microwave and set it on the counter, allowing his head to hang. “I’m sorry, Jen. I know that you have football practice, but I think Coach Morgan would understand if you took a quick break between plays to let me know you are all right.”

“Yeah Josh, I know he wouldn’t care if I text you between runs, but I just forget,” Jensen apologized as he gave his head a shake. “When I’m at practice, the only thing I can think about is football, you know that.” Taking a seat at the breakfast bar, Jensen grabbed the water bottle Josh offered to him and took a long swig. “I’m _really_ sorry that you were worried about me, but I’m fine. I just got caught up at practice, that’s all. Look, some days, I’m going to be getting home late because I stayed after a little longer to work out, or Coach Morgan wanted to keep us a few extra hours so we could get the plays just right. Especially now with everything that’s going on with David. Josh, I have to be at the top of my game, or else I’m gonna get benched! And that’ll end my future in football!”

Josh knew the whole situation with David because Jensen complained about it every day. It was a big deal, and Josh knew how much football meant to Jensen, but he wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. “Fine, I’ll let it slide just this once, Jen, but next time I’m going to have to do something. I’ll call Coach Morgan if I have to and make him remind you to text me if you’re going to be there late. And you can cry and complain and throw a fit about how uncool that is, but I don’t care. The only thing I care about is keeping you safe, Jen. We’re all we have now that Mom and Dad are gone. Mack and I can’t lose you, too.”

With that, Josh sighed and headed up the stairs, ready to call it a night. He had a lot of homework that still needed done for his classes tomorrow and he had to get up even earlier than usual to drive into campus. There was a question he didn’t quite understand on one of the study guides he had and he wanted to ask his professor about it before the test was given so he didn’t miss the question. After all, Josh had a perfect A average and he wanted to keep it that way. Without a scholarship for the next semester, he wasn’t going to be able to afford coming back, which would be devastating for him. 

Eating alone was something Jensen was growing accustomed to since he got home so late. Mackenzie always went to bed early because she didn’t want to look sleepy for school and Josh always retreated to his room as soon as he was sure Jensen was fine. Jensen didn’t really mind, of course, but it was a little lonely at times. He had come to the conclusion long ago that the reason he was always away from the house and partying with the football team and cheerleaders was because it was a lot less gloomy and lonely than sitting in his kitchen eating heated up dinners alone. Sure, it meant that he was away from his siblings a lot, but they all mostly did their own thing. College life was Josh’s passion, Mackenzie hung out with all the smart kids in school, and football was Jensen’s thing. It was just the way the Ackles children coped with their parents’ death, he supposed.

About an hour after he’d finished his dinner, Jensen finally fell into bed. Tom had been texting him about a party they had to attend this weekend and now Jensen was beat. Although he didn’t really want to go, he knew that it was his duty as the first string quarterback to at least make an appearance. Of course, that didn’t mean he had to stay, and he probably wouldn’t stay long unless there was something, or _someone_ worth staying for. He didn’t think that was going to be the case, though. Lately, Jensen had been avoiding relationships; he was the best player on the football team, so that meant he had plenty of options, but he didn’t have time for a relationship. Jensen knew how his relationships ended, and he didn’t want to deal with it now. Sure, everything went well for the first few weeks and then the girl would get impatient and she’d start to get clingy and whiny. Eventually, they’d break up because Jensen was “choosing football over her” and he’d make himself a few enemies in girl territory. Really, it wasn’t worth the hassle.

**~~**

The next morning, Jensen woke earlier than he would have usually to get some things ready for the big day he had ahead of him. There was a class roster in front of him and he’d taken the liberty of highlighting a few names on the list as potential partners for his English project. He wanted to work with Danneel Harris, the cutest girl in the class who also had brains, but she was working with her best friend Genevieve Cortese, the less-fortunate looking, yet still semi-attractive girl who also had brains, so she was out of the question. That left only three other people: Misha Collins, Sandra McCoy, and Jared Padalecki. Each of the final options had their pros and cons, which made Jensen’s decision much more difficult. 

For example, while Misha was currently ranked second overall in the class, he was also very pushy and he didn’t believe in cheating, which is essentially what Jensen planned on doing to get a good grade on this project, so Misha was pretty much off the list. Sandy was a girl, which meant Jensen could use his charms on her, but she also had a boyfriend, so it was going to be hard to hit on her and get her to do whatever he asked her to do. Also, she was only ranked fourth in class, which was a little scary for Jensen when he needed to get an A on this project to continue playing football this season. 

So, that left Jared Padalecki. There were a lot of risks involved if he chose Jared as his partner, but he was ranked first in the class and he never got a score lower than a ninety-eight percent on anything, which was good news for Jensen. However, Jared Padalecki was openly gay and Jensen was worried about what his teammates might think if he partnered up with Jared on this assignment. He knew David would have something to say about it, and Jensen wasn’t sure if getting a great grade as opposed to just a good grade was worth the trouble he was going to get from David and some of the moron’s closest buddies. Then again, with making just a good grade, there was a chance Jensen wouldn’t be able to bring his average up high enough to still be on the team, which would give David exactly what he wanted. That was the last thing Jensen wanted to happen.

He also had to take into consideration that Jared was a freshman taking an advanced English course, which would make him the best choice as far as Jensen was concerned. There was only one problem with this whole arrangement; Jared hated Jensen’s guts. During the first week of school, Jensen had treated Jared like a child and made fun of him for being a homosexual. Since then, they hadn’t really talked all that much unless Jensen was making fun of the guy, so getting Jared to agree to be his partner on this project was going to be a challenge. Luckily for Jensen, he had Mackenzie on his side. His sister was one of Jared’s best friends, so Jensen was hoping that Mackenzie could talk Jared into helping him out just this once. After all, Mackenzie could be very persuasive when she put her mind to it.

Plastering a smile on his lips, Jensen headed out of his room and down the stairs, meeting up with his little sister in the kitchen where she was making them both smoothies for breakfast. “Hey Mack,” he greeted as he slid into the closest chair. “How are you doing this morning?” He figured if he was nice to her, there was a better chance of him getting what he wanted. Not that Jensen was ever mean to Mackenzie, but most mornings, she was out the door before he even rolled out of bed, so this was a rarity. Still, he was hoping that Mackenzie wouldn’t see right through him and know that he was up to something. That would really put a damper on his master plan.

“No,” Mackenzie answered with a shake of her head, pouring the contents of the blender into a glass and handing it to Jensen. She chuckled softly when she saw her brother’s confused expression, pouring the rest of the smoothie into a glass for herself and taking a seat beside Jensen. “Whatever you want me to do for you, the answer is probably going to be no,” she explained, sipping from her glass as she smiled at her brother. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help Jensen, but usually when he was asking for something, she got into trouble when she did agree to help him. Josh had told her last time to stay out of Jensen’s problems, and she was going to take her big brother’s advice for once.

His smile quickly fell when Jensen realized that his sister was on to him, taking a long swing from his smoothie. “How do you know I want you to do something for me?” he asked with a shrug, rolling his eyes when Mackenzie saw through that fib as well. “All right, fine, I want you to do something for me. But if I tell you it’s for a good cause, will you change your mind and help me out?” Mackenzie was a do-gooder, so this may have been his only chance, even if he did hate exploiting his sister’s weaknesses like some kind of manipulator. Sometimes, to get something done for you, it was necessary to play dirty.

Although she planned on staying out of Jensen’s life, Mackenzie couldn’t help but be a little curious about what her brother needed. “Fine, tell me what you need me to do, and then _I’ll_ make the decision of whether or not it’s for a good cause,” she answered, figuring she could at least give herself an out if she didn’t think it would be a good idea. After all, the last time she helped Jensen with something, one of her best friends stopped talking to her because Jensen had broken her heart. Of course, it didn’t last long, but Mackenzie had still been upset. However, once Sandy met Chad, there really was no reason for her to be mad at Mackenzie anymore for setting her up with Jensen, so they mended their friendship.

Honestly, Jensen was a little worried about his sister’s decision, but he would go with it. He knew that he wasn’t going to have a shot at getting her help unless he agreed to the stipulations anyway, so this was his best option. “I’m failing English,” he blurted, figuring that was the best way to start off this conversation. It would at least get Mackenzie’s sympathy vote in any case. “And there’s this huge project coming up where we’re going to be in pairs, and I need to get the smartest kid in class if I want to pass for the semester.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jensen continued, “So, I was hoping that you could talk to Jared Padalecki for me and see if he’d be willing to be my partner for the project? Please Mack, I know he hates me, but I promise to be nice to him.”

When Jensen explained the predicament he was in, Mackenzie frowned deeply, knowing that Jensen having Jared as his partner would definitely boost his chances of getting a good grade. But Jensen was right about Jared hating him, and for good reason. Jensen had been a real jerk to him when he found out that Jared liked guys, and she wasn’t even sure she could get Jared on board with this plan because of that. “I’ll try,” she sighed finally, rolling her eyes at her own lack of willpower. She actually had planned on staying out of Jensen’s personal life, but his education was at risk here, so she couldn’t just ignore that. And besides, maybe if Jensen got to know Jared, they would actually become friends, and then Jared wouldn’t refuse to come over when Jensen was around. “But I’m not making any promises, Jensen. If you don’t get a text from me before third period, find a new partner.”

She merely smiled at Jensen when he thanked her, already on her way out the door so she could catch Jared in the library before homeroom. On her way to the school, Mackenzie stopped at a gas station and bought a package of gummy worms for Jared. He loved gummy candies and she was going to need all the help she could get when it came to convincing Jared to work on a project with Jensen. She liked to think that she and Jared were best friends, so she was hoping that would work to her advantage when she found Jared and asked him for this favor. If not, she could at least say she tried and she wouldn’t feel guilty when Jensen failed his English class. After all, it was his own fault for not doing his homework!

Luckily, she found Jared sitting at one of the tables in the back of the library with his nose in a book. She quickly made her way towards him and took a seat on the opposite side of the table, pushing the gummy worms towards Jared. “Got you a present, Jay,” Mackenzie smiled happily, placing her bag on the chair beside her like Jared had done with his. There were only four chairs at the table, so this would prevent anyone from sitting with them while Mackenzie pleaded her brother’s case. She hoped it wouldn’t take too long, but she certainly didn’t want an audience when she asked.

Jared smiled when Mackenzie gave him the gummy worms, picking them up off the table and stashing them away in his bag for later. He didn’t like to eat sugar so early in the morning, after all. But they would definitely be a nice addition to lunch that was for sure. “Hmm…and to what do I owe the pleasure of getting free candy?” Jared asked as his smile widened. As far as he knew, he hadn’t done anything nice for Mackenzie lately, other than the usual things that he just considered to be everyday things friends do for friends. Still, he may have missed something that would lead to him getting presents.

This was it; now or never. “Well, actually the gummy worms are a bribe,” she explained honestly, knowing that Jared valued honesty. If she got on his good side, there was a better chance of her getting what she wanted, and then Jensen would owe her big time for this. “I have a favor to ask you.” When Jared leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands, Mackenzie knew that he was willing to listen. Taking a deep breath, she started, “It’s about the project you have coming up in your English class. I was wondering if you’d consider being partners with my brother.”

A small frown came to Jared’s lips when Mackenzie asked if he’d be willing to work with Jensen on a project. She knew how Jared felt about her brother, and he was actually a little hurt that she would even suggest something like that. Slowly, he pushed himself back against his chair, letting out a deep sigh. “Mack, you know I’d do anything you asked me to do, but this is…it’s too much,” he admitted softly, giving his head a small shake. “Jensen and I…don’t see eye to eye. And it’s nothing against our friendship, but I don’t think I can work with him on a project that’s going to take almost a month, if not longer, to finish.”

Now it was Mackenzie’s turn to frown, the young woman nodding slightly. “Jared, I know it’s a lot to ask, but please? Do it for me? I’ll make sure to be there when you guys meet for the project, I promise. At least then you won’t have to be alone with him.” Again, she frowned when Jared still didn’t seem convinced. “He’s failing the class, Jared,” she confided softly. “And if Jensen fails his English class, he’ll have to repeat the twelfth grade, which means, there’s a chance you’ll be in class with him again next year. Do you really want to risk that, Jay?” It was kind of a low blow, but she was desperate. Josh would be so upset if Jensen failed a class, and he had enough on his plate as it was. He didn’t need to deal with this too.

Sighing, Jared gave his head a small shake, letting Mackenzie know he didn’t want to run the risk of being in the same class as Jensen Ackles again next year. “All right, I’ll do it,” he mumbled softly, obviously not happy about his decision. “But you _have_ to be there every time we meet up to work on the project, Mackenzie. I don’t want to be in the same room alone with him.” Grabbing his bag, Jared added, “And let it be known that I’m only agreeing to this because you and I are friends; I’m _not_ doing this as a favor to Jensen.”

Before Jared could walk to his homeroom, Mackenzie wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she exclaimed happily, almost bouncing with joy. “I won’t forget this, Jay. Anything you _ever_ need and I’m there for you, I promise!” Smiling, she pulled back, blowing a kiss at Jared as her friend walked out of the library. Quickly, she pulled out her cell phone, bringing up her last text message conversation with Jensen. _I got Jared to agree to be your partner._ Don’t _screw it up, knucklehead!”_ With that, Mackenzie pocketed her phone and headed off in the direction of her own homeroom, not wanting to get marked as tardy.


	2. Chapter 2

Jensen was feeling all kinds of good as he walked into third period, instantly spotting Jared and taking the seat right next to him. “So,” he mumbled, not really sure how to break the _very_ thick ice between the two of them. “I really appreciate you agreeing to work with me on this. I know you and I don’t exactly get along, but you were the best choice if I wanted to get the best grade possible, so…thanks.” He knew that he sounded like a rambling idiot, but Mackenzie warned him not to fuck this up, and he was trying as hard as he could to make Jared at least tolerate him during these few weeks.

“I didn’t do it for you,” Jared assured Jensen as he rolled his eyes. Sucking up to him wasn’t going to work, if that’s what Jensen was trying to do. “Mackenzie and I are really good friends, so I’m doing this as a favor to her. She told me that you are currently failing this class, and I know that Josh has enough to deal with without having to worry about your grades. And I didn’t want to have to run the risk of being in a class with you again next year when you failed because you couldn’t pass English.” He turned in his seat so that he was facing Jensen then, frowning deeply at the older male. “But let it be known that I’m not going to be doing all of the work, Jensen. You’re going to be helping me every step of the way, or else I will make sure you don’t pass the course. You got it?”

Well, that really wasn’t compatible with his plans, but Jensen was going to agree with it anyway, giving a small nod to let Jared know he understood. “I have football practice after school every day,” he explained so there was no confusion when the time came. “Sometimes I don’t get home until really late, so don’t expect me to be around right after school.” He knew how these smart types worked; they liked to spend every free minute they had working on their current project so that they could get a good grade. Jensen actually had a life, so there was no way he could possibly be like that for Jared. And if that meant that Jared had to do most of the work himself, then so be it. 

Rolling his eyes, Jared explained, “Yes, I know you have football practice, but afterwards you’re going to help me with the project.” He knew taking Jensen on as his partner was going to be a bad choice, but he’d done it anyway because Mackenzie had seemed desperate. But he wasn’t going to be like everyone else in this place and let Jensen intimidate him. If he wanted the grade, Jensen was going to have to earn it. Squaring his shoulders, Jared added, “So don’t make any plans for the next month or so after practice because you’re going to be working on this project. You need to earn the grade if you want to get it.”

Again, Jensen frowned when Jared told him he was going to have to earn his grade. This definitely wasn’t how he’d planned on this partnership going down. “Fine, but I get weekends off,” he negotiated, feeling as though he was signing himself up for the worst job of his life. “And by weekends, Friday is included because that’s the night that we have games and I won’t be able to work on the project even if I wanted to.” Jared seemed like a reasonable kid, which meant Jensen wasn’t worried about his chances of getting off the hook Friday nights. Besides, there were probably a ton of different things that Jared had to do Fridays as well. After all, Jensen heard the rumors going around about Jared being quite the party animal Friday nights and going clubbing. Sure, there was no way to be certain if it was true, but Jensen usually believed something until it was proven wrong. 

Although Jared wasn’t so sure about losing a whole three days of work on the project, he figured that it was only fair to give Jensen some time off. He was sure that he’d need a break from the older man when they finally got into this, so maybe Jensen having weekends to himself was a good plan. “All right, deal,” Jared answered with a small nod, pretty satisfied with how things were playing out already. Also, with this little break on the weekends, it would give Mackenzie plenty of time to have to herself as well. She was kind of getting the short end of the stick in this partnership because she wasn’t even part of the project and she had to come over and be there so Jared didn’t have to be alone in the same room with Jensen. Well, maybe her end of the stick wasn’t as short as Jared’s because she didn’t feel badly towards Jensen like Jared did, but it was still pretty short.

Admittedly, Jensen didn’t think Jared was going to give him three whole days to himself, but he sure wasn’t complaining about it. “Good,” he smiled triumphantly, leaning back in his seat a little bit so he was sitting more comfortably. “Then it’s settled. We’ll work on this project together, and when all is said and done, we’ll both get a good grade.” He was feeling even better now that he had sorted all of that out. He was still a little worried about balancing everything, but he would figure it out when he needed to; he always did.

Jared nodded when Jensen told him that it was settled, smiling at the student who handed him the sign-up sheet. A part of him couldn’t believe that he was writing his name next to Jensen Ackles, but a part of him was actually a little excited about it. The way Mackenzie had spoken, she’d made it sound like Jensen needed him. And if that was the case, Jared all but owned Jensen for the next few weeks. He could make the other man’s life a living hell if he wanted to. But that would have been wrong, even if it was a little tempting. 

He sighed softly as he handed the sheet off to the next pair of students, feeling almost like he had just signed his perfect average away. Something inside him was screaming to go after that list and make changes, put himself with Sandy or Chad, anyone other than Jensen, but he didn’t. He’d made a promise to Mackenzie and he was going to uphold his end of the deal. And if worst came to worst, he could always tell Jensen to just leave him along and do the project all on his own. Sure, it would be like _giving_ Jensen the grade, but that was better than failing because of something Jensen did, or didn’t, do. When the bell rang, Jared grabbed his bag and explained, “I’ll be at my house all night. When practice is over, come see me. Mackenzie has the address, I’m sure she’ll bring you over.”

[](http://pics.livejournal.com/wincest_whore/pic/0001r196/)

As soon as his last class was over, Jensen headed to the locker room, grabbing his cell phone and shooting Josh a quick text message to let him know that he would be hitting the weight room after practice was over so Josh didn’t freak out. Once that was finished, Jensen planned on changing into his gear so he could get out on the field. Unfortunately, almost as soon as he got into the room, he was shoved against the wall, his head cracking against the plaster painfully.

“So, Ackles,” David sneered, pushing Jensen against the wall again when he tried to get away from it. “Word around the field is that you’re hooking up with Gay-red Gay-dalecki.” A soft snicker escaped one of David’s “lackeys” as Jensen liked to call them. He really hated those dickheads. “I wonder how Coach Morgan would feel about that. His lead quarterback fucking a guy? That would probably break him.”

This time when Jensen shoved at David, he put more power behind it and actually got free. “I’m not fucking him!” Jensen argued, pushing David back further away from him so he could move. “I’m using him for an English project. And Coach Morgan already knows that.” He purposely bumped his shoulder against David’s to let him know that he wasn’t in the mood to deal with him right now. Turning his attention to the other men in the room, Jensen dropped his duffel onto the bench in front of him. “Unless you guys wanted to watch me change, you should probably get out on the field and wait for practice to start. You know, when the _first string_ quarterback is ready.” A cocky smirk came to his lips as David glared at him before walking out. 

Once he was dressed for practice, Jensen headed out onto the field, slapping Tom on the back as he jogged past him. “Hey, Jen,” Tom mumbled as he caught up with Jensen. “Is it true? Are you hooking up with Jared Padalecki?” Putting his hands in the air as though he were surrendering, Tom assured him, “I’m not judging you, man, I’m just asking.” He lowered his voice to a whisper as he continued, “I mean, you know about me and Mike, so obviously I’m not judging. But I’d like to think that you’d share something like that with me. You know, since I shared it with you.”

Rolling his eyes, Jensen glanced around the field to make sure no one was listening to them. “No, Tom, I’m not sleeping with him,” Jensen assured his friend with a shake of his head. “We’re working together on an English project – that’s all.” Biting into his bottom lip, Jensen explained, “I’ve been…struggling in English class because I haven’t done any of the book reports, and Jared’s my ticket to passing the course. Without him as my partner, I wouldn’t have been able to play football. This was necessary.”

Although Tom didn’t really like the idea of Jensen using Jared to get a good grade, he had to admit that he was glad the rumors weren’t true. It wasn’t because he didn’t like Jared – actually, he was one of the few guys in the school who did like him – but if word got out to Mike that Jared was dating Jensen, he might want to tell people about _them_ , and Tom wasn’t ready for that yet. He understood that Mike didn’t want to keep it a secret anymore, but Mike had been openly gay for a few years now; Tom was still hiding in the closet. It was easier for Mike – he was captain of the Glee Club, he was in every musical and theatre production the school had, and his parents were pretty open-minded. For Tom, a running back on the football team, and the son of two fundamental Christians, it was harder because he couldn’t just wake up one day and tell his parents that he was gay and had been in a relationship with a dude for the last six months. Mike understood that, but Tom could see that it sometimes put a strain on his boyfriend. 

After a few moments, Tom nodded, realizing that he hadn’t said anything in regards to Jensen’s confession. “All right, well, just be nice to him, Jen. I mean, he’s my friend and I don’t really like the thought of you using him for your own personal gain. At the same time, we need you to be out on this field if we want to win, so I won’t say anything about it.” As Jensen started walking away, Tom grabbed his arm, keeping him in place as he reminded, “He’s my friend, Jensen. I meant it when I said don’t hurt him.”

Before Jensen could assure Tom that he wouldn’t hurt Jared, Coach Morgan walked out onto the field, blowing his whistle to get his players’ attentions. “All right ladies, let’s get started!” he called out, glancing at his clipboard as he looked over the plays he wanted to run today. First thing was first though. “Everyone drop and give me fifty; you all know the drill!”

**~~**

As soon as practice was over, Jensen changed into a wife beater and a pair of basketball shorts before he hit the weight room, needing to get in at least thirty minutes before he could head home. If he didn’t get his work out in, Jensen felt like he hadn’t done anything all day. Jared would probably bitch about it as soon as he got over to his place, but Jensen wasn’t worried about it. This was part of practice as far as Jensen was concerned, and Jared gave him permission to be late because of practice. Besides, he had given Josh the message that he’d be working out, so Mackenzie would know too, and if Jared wanted to know where he was, he could ask Mackenzie since they were such close friends and all.

He only worked out for about forty-five minutes, which was half of the time he usually stayed, but he figured that Jared was probably getting antsy waiting for him. So, once he had his clothes packed up in his duffel, Jensen headed to his car and sent a text message to Mackenzie to let her know that he was on his way home so they could get to Jared’s house. He didn’t think that Mackenzie would be staying but she quickly informed him that she had promised Jared she would. Jensen didn’t really care one way or the other to be honest.

When he got home, Jensen didn’t even have time to take his duffel to his room before Mackenzie was ushering him out the door. “Jared’s called me three times asking where you are, Jensen,” she scolded as she rolled her eyes. “Practice ended an hour ago, Jensen! You can’t just goof around after practice when you have an obligation to someone.” She felt responsible for every bad thing Jensen did, or would inevitably do, while he and Jared were working together on this project because she had been the one who got Jared to agree to work with him. “I did this as a favor for you, Jenny. Please don’t make me regret it.”

It took about twenty minutes to get to Jared’s house, and Jensen was already feeling a little uneasy just walking into the place. If anyone saw him here, people would make the assumption that they were doing something other than school work. Hell, some people were already jumping to that conclusion, and Jensen didn’t need anyone else starting rumors about him and Jared. Of course, he knew this was going to happen when he first came up with this plan, but he hadn’t expected the rumors to spread so quickly. Then again, he should have counted on that because Sandy McCoy was in the class, and she was Jared’s friend.

A few months back, Jensen had gone out with Sandy a few times, but it hadn’t worked out. She was devastated when Jensen broke it off, even going as far as not speaking to Mackenzie for weeks. Spreading rumors that Jensen and Jared were sexually involved would be the perfect payback – Jared would get popularity because he was with the captain of the football team, and Jensen would get ragged on for being gay. In Sandy’s world, it was a win-win situation. Jensen thought that once she met Chad, the grudge that she’d been holding would have been gone; apparently, he’d been wrong.

“Jared, honey, I’m _so_ sorry,” Mackenzie apologized as she gave Jared a big hug. “Jensen decided to stay after a little longer to work out.” She gave her brother a pointed look to let him know that she wasn’t happy about it, which Jensen ignored. Working out was part of practice and the sooner Jared realized that, the better this partnership was going to be.

Smiling, Jared wrapped his arms around Mackenzie, giving his head a small shake. “It’s all right, don’t worry about it,” he assured her, turning his attention to Jensen once he pulled away. “You can’t help what your brother does.” He could tell that Jensen was annoyed just by being here, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it. Quite honestly, Jared was annoyed that Jensen was here too, but again, he wasn’t saying anything. They were here to work on an English project, not talk about how much they hated each other. Plus, Mackenzie was here, so he didn’t want to upset her; he knew how much she loved her brother. 

Slowly, Jared led his guests into the living room where his books were all laid out because he had been working on a few ideas while he was waiting for Jensen. “I ordered a pizza a few minutes ago, so it should be here soon. I figured this was going to be a long night, so we might as well order food.” Sure enough, about twenty minutes later, the pizza arrived and they took a break from working so they could eat.

Of course, they hadn’t really gotten much work done because Jensen and Jared couldn’t agree on anything. The project requirements were to pick a Shakespeare play and write a report on it. At least, those were the basic instructions, but Jared planned on adding a few things to really make their project pop. He hadn’t run any of his ideas by Jensen until today and Jensen wasn’t happy with them. God forbid Jensen might have to work a little harder to earn a good grade. If it were up to Jensen, they’d write a five page paper and hope for the best. That wasn’t really Jared’s style.

Now, they at least had a topic and Jared agreed to cut out the part where he and Jensen acted out one of the scenes from the play as long as Jensen agreed to keep the poster. “You know, you’re going to have to actually read the play, right Jensen?” Jared asked, turning his attention away from the outline that he was working on. “I’d suggest going to library tomorrow and checking out a copy of it.”

The last thing Jensen wanted to do was check out a copy of _Romeo & Juliet_. Unfortunately, he really had no choice and he knew it. Jared was going to make him work whether he liked it or not and the sooner he accepted that, the easier his life was going to be Jensen was sure. “It’s fine, I’ve seen the movie,” Jensen assured Jared as a last ditch effort to get away with doing the least amount of work as possible. “I can just wing it. I mean, the movie and the play are pretty much the same, right?”

Jared nearly fell off his chair when Jensen suggested that the movie and the play were the same. Honestly, Jared had no idea how Jensen had managed to get through the first eleven grades and make it to senior year. “Go to the library tomorrow and check out the book,” Jared repeated, speaking slower than he had a moment ago because Jensen was clearly a child and needed things repeated. “There are differences between the film and the play and I want to talk about them in the report. We might even mention it on the poster so we remember to talk about it for the class presentation.”

In Jensen’s opinion, Jared was taking this whole project too seriously. They only needed to write a five-page paper and Jared could probably manage that in a day. Maybe that was why he was adding in all of these extra things. Jensen wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think it was necessary. Still, if there was more to the project than just the basic requirements, there was a chance they’d get a better grade for effort, so he was keeping the complaining to a minimum. “Fine, I’ll check out the book,” he surrendered, rolling his eyes when Jared smiled smugly before going back to work on the outline he’d been making. Apparently, it was necessary to have a detailed outline for the project before any work got done because it would make the whole thing go much more smoothly. 

About thirty minutes later, Jared finally let Jensen and Mackenzie go home, realizing that his friend was falling asleep on the chair she’d been sitting in. He felt kind of bad for making her come over here and then just having her sit there, but there was nothing else she could do. Jared wasn’t ready to be in the same room with Jensen and they needed to work on this project. There was no other solution to the problem. Of course, he could always go to the library and work, but then Jensen would have to be seen with him in public and the other guy might not like that. After all, Jared was well aware of the rumors that were flying around the school now, and he felt kind of bad about them. Then again, this was Jensen’s idea, so it was his own fault. Rumors were just something that he had to deal with if he wanted to work with the “gay kid” to get his passing grade. And quite frankly, it would prove Jensen right since he was the one who had made the biggest deal about Jared’s sexual orientation. No one had cared that he was gay until Jensen started making fun of him for it.

Before they left, Jared handed Jensen a copy he’d made of the outline. “Make sure you at least read this before you come back tomorrow,” he instructed. “I don’t want to have to waste time going over this because you have no idea what’s going on. And don’t lose it, Jensen.” He rolled his eyes when Jensen mumbled something under his breath and walked out of the house, giving Mackenzie a small smile as she leaned in and hugged him. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this, Mack,” Jared chuckled, giving his head a small shake. “He’s going to drive me crazy, you know that, right?”

Mackenzie chuckled softly when Jared told her that Jensen was going to drive him crazy. “Yeah, well, he has that effect on most people,” she assured Jared jokingly. “I’ll make sure he does everything he’s supposed to do before we come here tomorrow. And if there’s anything you need me to do for you, I’ll gladly do it. I mean, it’s my fault you’re in this mess with him, so it’s the least I can do.” She quieted Jared when he tried to deny the fact that it was her fault, shaking her head. “Jared, you only agreed to this because you’re my friend. I know that, and I appreciate that. But I don’t want your grade to suffer because of Jensen, so I’m here to help. I know my brother can get a little…lazy when it comes to anything that doesn’t involve football.”

He understood that Mackenzie wasn’t to say goodnight to her friend, but that didn’t mean Jensen wanted to sit out in the car all night waiting for her. Honking the horn seemed a little rude, especially since this was a crowded neighborhood and it was almost eleven thirty, so Jensen merely got out of the car and called out quietly, “Hey Mack, don’t you need to get to bed soon?” He frowned softly when Mackenzie just gave him a glare before turning back to Jared. Thankfully, she hugged Jared one last time before she headed to the car and climbed into the passenger seat. Before he climbed back into the car, Jensen gave Jared a small wave, figuring that if they were going to be seeing a lot of each other in the coming weeks, he should at least be civil.

**~~**

The next morning, Jensen woke to the sound of his cell phone buzzing on the nightstand, causing him to groan in displeasure. Grabbing the annoying device, Jensen quickly silenced it, tossing it onto the pillow beside his head where it would hopefully not bother him as he glanced at the clock. He couldn’t believe that there was even anyone up at six in the morning, let alone that this person would be bothering him. Still he figured it someone was dumb enough to text him this early in the morning, it had to be important, so he shoved himself out of the bed and looked at his phone to see what the problem was.

A deep frown came to Jensen’s lips when he realized that Jared had been the one to wake him up, wondering how Jared had even gotten his number in the first place. It didn’t take him long to figure out who the culprit was, quickly racing down the stairs to catch up with his sister before she started getting ready for school. Slamming his phone down on the counter in front of Mackenzie, Jensen exclaimed, “You gave Jared my phone number?! Why the hell would you do that, Mackenzie?!”

Frowning, Mackenzie shrugged as she popped her toast into the toaster. “You guys are working on the project together so I just figured that it would be easier for the two of you if he had your number, Jen,” Mackenzie explained honestly, not seeing the big deal about Jared having Jensen’s number. “Why, what’s wrong with Jared having your number, Jen? Are you afraid he’s going to prank call you in the middle of the night and you’re going to lose time out of your beauty sleep?” Chuckling softly, she leaned on the counter and slid Jensen’s phone back towards him. “Text him back.”

“No way,” Jensen argued, shoving his phone into his basketball shorts’ pocket. “By Jared having my number you know that the rumors are only going to get worse, right?” Jensen exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair in his aggravation. He knew that Mackenzie meant well, but sometimes Mackenzie just didn’t understand the simplest things. “I mean, come on Mack, use your head. People already think I’m fucking the guy! Now people are going to get the wrong idea because he’s sending me text messages! The less contact we have outside of the project, the better things are going to work out for me.”

Again, Mackenzie frowned at her brother’s words, not understanding why it was such a huge issue for him and Jared to talk. Tom and Jared spoke all the time and Tom didn’t care what people said about it. There was no reason Jensen couldn’t be the same way. “What are you trying to say, Jen? That because Jared’s _gay_ you don’t want anything to do with him? I mean, unless he’s helping you pass a course, right?!” Scoffing, Mackenzie shoved past her brother and started heading up the stairs, completely forgetting about her breakfast and ignoring Jensen as he called after her.

Great, not only was this project messing with his popularity, now it was getting between him and Mackenzie. Jensen blamed Jared for this. Sighing, he pulled up the text message from Jared and read it once more, debating whether or not he wanted to go with Jared later to the library like he’d suggested. Honestly, he didn’t want to because he preferred to sleep during his homeroom period when he wasn’t in the weight room; meeting with Jared would really cut into those plans. Then again, it was about the project apparently, and he knew that if he screwed this up, he was going to fail English and have to repeat his senior year. Or worse, he’d have to go to summer school and waste his entire break. Not to mention, failing would really put a damper on his scholarship, so he had no choice.

Quickly, Jensen shot Jared a quick, one-worded text message to let him know that he would be at the library during free period, as requested. Now that he was awake, Jensen knew there was no way he’d be able to fall back asleep, not to mention there was no point. He’d have to wake up in an hour anyway, so he figured that he’d just get ready and get to the library early so he could check out that stupid book he was going to need. Hell, he didn’t even know if he had his library card anymore. He never used it, after all. The last time he checked out a book had been…well, he couldn’t even remember, so that said something. 

Once he’d gotten a quick shower and pulled on some clothes, Jensen headed out of the house, trying to avoid Mackenzie after their last conversation. He hadn’t meant to upset her, but the truth of the matter was, it was different for him and Jared to be talking. She was a girl, which meant talking to Jared wasn’t unusual. But Jensen was a guy and talking to Jared, who was gay, was a reputation-killer. Sure, he should have thought about that a little more before he signed himself up for this, but he’d been desperate. His teacher hated him, and so did the principal, and he was sure they were just dying to get him kicked off the team. Jared was his only chance and Jensen would have been a fool not to take it. Or maybe he had been a fool to take the chance; at this point, he just wasn’t sure anymore.

It took him forever to find the book Jared had told him to check out, and by the time he finally had it, the library was a little too full for his liking. Maybe if he suggested that he and Jared went somewhere else, the other man might not notice that he was trying to hide the fact that they were working together here. Unfortunately, Jared was already seated at one of the tables in the back with his books strewn about the table as he wrote in one of his notebooks. Jensen didn’t understand the appeal schoolwork had to Jared, but he hoped that he didn’t catch it from being around the freshman too long. 

Not wasting any more time, Jensen headed to the table where Jared was working, tossing the book onto the hard surface and chuckling when Jared jumped in surprise. “God, you’re an asshole,” Jared frowned, sitting up straight as he eyed Jensen. “Are you going to sit down so we can work on this thing, or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?” A small smile came to his lips when Jensen’s smile turned into an annoyed frown, a little voice in the back of his head reminding him that he’d just scored a point for himself and tied with Jensen now. “So, I’ve been doing a little work since last night and I have the first page pretty much written. I was thinking that maybe we could watch the movie once you’ve read the book and we can plot out the differences for the poster. That’s probably going to be the third or fourth page for the report, so we’ll want to get it done soon. Which means make sure you read this play the whole way through, Jensen. We can’t afford to take shortcuts with this project if you want to pass English.”

Every time he was around Jared, Jensen felt like he was being lectured. Maybe that was another reason he didn’t like hanging around Jared unless it was necessary. Hell, maybe it had nothing to do with the fact that Jared was into guys, but the fact that Jared insisted on treating him like he was a child being scolded. He got enough of that from Josh, he didn’t need it from Jared, too. “Yeah, I’ll read it,” he assured Jared, snatching to book back up and shoving it into his bag so no one could see it. “It’s going to take me at least a week though, so don’t get your panties in a twist if I’m not finished with it by tomorrow. I have practice every day after school and there’s no way I’m skipping it to read a Shakespeare play.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything about how long it’s going to take you,” Jared frowned, giving his head a small shake. “All I care about is you reading the book. For now that’s all I’m expecting you to do. I’m handling the paper, and then you can work on the poster. I’ll give you all of the information you need for it and then we’ll sit and watch the movie, add a few finishing touches and then we’re done. We just need to get through these next few weeks and we’ll be fine.” Frowning, Jared closed his own book, packing everything into his bag and standing, throwing the strap over his shoulder. “And then you’ll never have to talk to me again and we can go back to it being the same way it was before you asked for my help.”

With that, Jared headed off to homeroom, a small frown on his lips as he walked. Earlier, Mackenzie had told Jared how upset Jensen had gotten about the fact that Jared had his number and now Jared just wasn’t sure if this whole thing was worth it. Last night, he’d been under the impression that he and Jensen had gotten past some barriers, but apparently, he’d been wrong. Just like half of the people at that damn school, Jensen hated him because he was gay, and Jared was just someone who was going to get Jensen his passing grade. Maybe it was better that way. After all, they had never been friends before, so why would they want to start now? It would just upset the natural order of things. Still, there was some part of him that couldn’t help but be upset about this discovery.


	3. Chapter 3

A soft groan escaped Jensen when Tom clapped him on the back as they headed into the locker room after the big game. They’d won because Jensen had thrown an amazing pass to Tom with three seconds left and they’d managed to nail the play perfectly. Coach Morgan was obviously pleased because he was planning on taking them out to dinner to celebrate their victory. Jensen made sure to text Josh and let him know that he wouldn’t be straight home, and Jensen didn’t have to worry about going to Jared’s house to work on the project because it was a weekend, so he was feeling pretty good. He’d taken a hit on the field that had him a little sore, but it was nothing a hot shower couldn’t handle. Jensen planned on jumping in as soon as he got home.

The dinner went well, even David seeming to cool off and just have some fun. That probably had something to do with the fact that Katie Cassidy was a few tables away and David wanted her to think he was a nice guy so she’d go out with him, but Jensen would take it any way he could get it. David was a dick, so the few times he acted civil were not something to be taken for granted.

After dinner, Tom and Jensen just hung out for a while, playing music in Jensen’s car as they sat on the hood and recapped the game, both enjoying a beer. They congratulated each other on the awesome last play and drunkenly fought over who had been the game’s MVP. Finally, they both decided upon David for the excellent job his ass had done warming up the bench. However, before long, their conversation turned to a more serious subject; Jared and the project Jensen was working on with the younger man. “How’s it going, anyway?” Tom asked, knowing that the deadline was fast approaching and Jensen still hadn’t done anything for the poster.

“It’s um…it’s going,” Jensen assured Tom with a small nod. And really, it was. Jensen finished reading _Romeo & Juliet_ last night and let Jared know that he could rent the movie for Monday night, and Jared almost had the paper completely written. They probably only had one week left before the project was entirely finished. Honestly, Jensen felt pretty good about himself because he was actually managing to juggle everything and help Jared without losing too much sleep. “He stares at me a lot, though,” Jensen mumbled softly. “But every time I notice it, he hurries up and looks away.” He gave his head a small shake as he explained, “I mean, it’s probably nothing, but it’s a little weird. Jared’s probably just making sure that I’m doing the work I’m supposed to do, though.” That had to be what he was doing, right?

Frowning, Tom shrugged when Jensen told him that Jared stared at him, not knowing what that could possibly be about. “Well, you were complaining the other day about how Jared treated you like a kid,” Tom reminded helpfully. “Maybe he just wants to keep an eye on you. I mean, Jared’s really picky about his grades and I’d imagine he isn’t going to let you screw this up for him.” Realizing what he’d just said, Tom quickly added, “I mean, not that I think you’re going to screw this up, or anything. I’m just saying that he’s really picky and likes to have things done his way, that’s all.” He sighed softly when Jensen seemed to just drop the subject, their conversation turning to the party they were attending the next night.

**~~**

Mike sighed softly as he stared at Jared, trying to figure out a response to what the younger man had just confessed to him. If it had been anyone else, Mike would have told him to get lost and go find someone who had an answer for him because he was out of ideas, but this was Jared, one of his best friends, so he felt he needed to at least try to help him out here. “Jensen, huh?” Mike asked, biting into his bottom lip as Jared gave his head a small nod. “Well, the only thing I can think of to advise is that you go for it. I mean, there’s no way someone is that pretty and there isn’t at least a _little_ bit of gay in him.” Smiling, Mike bumped shoulders with Jared as he added, “And you’re a good-looking guy, so if there’s anyone who’s going to introduce Jensen to his gay side, it’s going to be you.”

Although Mike apparently believed in him, Jared wasn’t too sure. When Jensen had found out about Jared’s sexual preferences, he seemed pretty freaked out about the whole thing. And then he started making fun of Jared for it, and everything went downhill from there. Hell, Jared didn’t even know why he was attracted to Jensen after the things he’d put him through just a few months ago, but he was. It probably had something to do with the fact that they were always around each other now that they were working on this project, and really, Jensen wasn’t all that bad. And he was hot as hell, so that was a plus. Still, Jared was worried that if he revealed his feelings to Jensen, it wouldn’t go as Mike thought it was going to and then he would be humiliated. He’d probably just earn himself a punch to the mouth and be forced to work on the project alone, too, which wasn’t something he was looking forward to. “I don’t know, Mike,” he mumbled softly. “I mean, I wouldn’t even know how to tell him. And there’s the chance that he doesn’t feel the same and everything would just be a mess. I don’t think I could live with that.”

Plus, there was the issue of Mackenzie. She was one of Jared’s best friends and if there was something going on between Jensen and Jared, she might feel weird. Hell, she was always there when they were working, so it wasn’t even like Jared could have a minute alone with Jensen to talk to him about this. “I think maybe I should just keep this one to myself, Mike,” Jared finally answered with a small nod. There was too much riding on his decision and Jared didn’t want to make the wrong one. What kind of chance did he have with Jensen Ackles, anyway? He was crazy to think it, even for one second. “Mackenzie is my friend and I don’t want it to be weird for her one way or the other. And honestly, I don’t want to have to finish this project by myself because Jensen’s too freaked out to come over here because I have a crush on him.” Nodding once more, Jared asked, “Do you think we can just keep this one between us?”

In all honesty, Mike didn’t want to keep this to himself. Jared was always so scared to go after what he wanted, which meant the guy hardly ever got to be happy. One time he had been with a man who was still in the closet and Jared had seemed happy then, but it didn’t last long. Jared finally broke it off one night after the guy came to his house drunk and tried to force himself on Jared; Mike had been the one to calm Jared down after the attempted rape, demanding to know the name of the dickhead who hurt him, but Jared wouldn’t tell him. Now, Mike was worried that Jared would never take a risk again because of how that had ended. Hell, if Mike hadn’t hit on Tom, they wouldn’t be where they were today, and Mike would have regretted it for the rest of his life. He didn’t want Jared to regret this. Life was about taking chances and going after what you wanted. Instead, Jared was hiding behind excuses and his own fears.

Still, Jared was a good friend, and this wasn’t Mike’s business to tell. “Fine, I won’t tell anyone,” Mike answered with a small sigh. “But I still think you should go for it, Jared. I mean, you never take risks anymore and it’s going to lead to you having to settle in life. I don’t want that for you, Jared. And I’m sure your parents wouldn’t have wanted that for you, either.” When Jared had been six, both his parents had died in a plane crash coming home from visiting relatives, forcing Jared to live with his uncle who hated him because he was gay. Luckily, the man was never home because he spent his nights drinking and fucking anything in a skirt that would take him because he was trying to avoid Jared. Mike hated the man and wished that Jared would just live with the basketball coach who offered to give him a place to stay. Jim Beaver had been a close friend of the Padalecki’s and he actually loved Jared as if Jared was his own son.

It hurt to hear those words coming from Mike, but Jared knew there was nothing he could do about it. “Jensen isn’t gay,” Jared whispered softly, not sure if he was trying to convince himself or Mike. Clearly, Mike thought there was a chance they could have something if Jared went for it, but Jared was scared. He and Jensen were finally starting to get along, which was really helping with the project, and Jared didn’t want to ruin that. “If I were to try something with him, I don’t know what will happen. And we’re just starting to get along and tolerate being around each other long enough to work on the project, so I don’t want to ruin that. Not to mention Mackenzie’s always here while we’re working because I asked her to be when I agreed to work with Jensen.” He hadn’t known then that he was going to fall for the other man.

Slowly, Mike nodded, letting Jared know that he understood where he was coming from. “I get it, Jay, I do. But one of these days, you’re going to have to put yourself first, you know that right?” Mike explained softly. When Jared nodded, the other man seemed satisfied, moving to stand as he gave himself a large stretch. Sitting on the couch for the last half an hour in the same position had really done a number on his back. “Well, Tom just texted me, so I gotta get home. I promised him that he could spend the night tonight.” Giving Jared a quick hug, Mike headed out of the room, letting himself out of the house.

Sometimes, Jared wished that he could have a relationship like Mike and Tom’s. Sure, they had their problems, but it was nothing major. If given the choice between being with Mike or having a strained relationship with his parents, Jared had no doubt that Tom would choose Mike. They were so perfect together. If his parents couldn’t accept him for who he was, then they didn’t deserve to speak to Tom. At least that was how Jared saw it, anyway. That was the reason he didn’t talk to his uncle for the most part. The other reason was that he wasn’t around much unless Jared wasn’t home, so that made it easier for both of them to ignore each other he supposed. 

Sighing softly, Jared pulled his phone from his pocket, figuring he should take this chance that Mike was talking about. In all honesty, Jared kind of missed being the guy who would go after anything he wanted and just brush it off if it didn’t work out; he wanted that person back. After everything that happened with his ex though, it was going to be hard to get back to where he’d been before. Quickly, he sent Mackenzie a text message that read, _You don’t have to come over with Jensen on Monday night. We’re just going to be watching_ Romeo & Juliet _and I know you’ve already seen it. Plus, you have that big test on Tuesday, so just stay in and study for that. Jensen and I can manage to be alone for one night._

With that finished, Jared started heading upstairs, stripping out of his hoodie and T-shirt on the way. Once he was in the bathroom, Jared tossed his discarded clothing into the hamper, his jeans and boxers quickly following the shirt and jacket. It really was getting late, and he had a pretty early day tomorrow, so he figured a shower and then going to be was his best bet. After all, he wanted to have the whole paper written by Monday night when Jensen got here so Jensen could read it over and Jared could focus on helping Jensen with the poster. Maybe that would take his mind off the plan to tell Jensen he wanted him – yeah, he doubted it, but he could dream, right?

After his shower, Jared crawled into his bed, pulling the covers up around his hips, leaving his bare chest exposed. It was pretty hot in the house, so there was no need to wear anything other than boxers to bed, especially since he was alone most nights. There was the occasional night his uncle would come stumbling into the house and pass out on the couch, but it was rare. Turning onto his side, Jared closed his eyes, letting his mind drift off to better days when he had been with his parents and he’d been happy as he fell into a light sleep.

 

**~~**

Jensen didn’t drag himself out of bed until three thirty the next day, strolling down the stairs and scrambling himself up some eggs for brunch. He was feeling pretty good about the party he was going to tonight because Danneel had just broken up with her boyfriend, and she was looking for love according to Christian. That worked out in Jensen’s favor because Danneel was hot and he was horny – it was a win-win situation. Hell, he might even think about calling her after tonight if everything went well, but he’d have to think about it. After all, he did have a lot on his plate right now with football and this damn English project. But Jensen was pretty confident they’d have the project done by the end of the week, which would free up a lot of Jensen’s time. He was just going to have to play it by ear, he supposed.

About twenty minutes after he’d eaten and gotten himself dressed, Tom was knocking on his door, yelling at Jensen to open up. Sighing, Jensen opened the door, smiling at Tom and Mike as they walked into the house. “Aren’t you guys a little early?” he asked, glancing at the clock to find that it was already four thirty. The party was starting at seven and he’d promised Mike and Tom that he’d go out to dinner with them before the party started. “Oh, I guess not. All right, let me grab my keys and I’ll be right out,” he mumbled, running up the stairs and searching his room for where he’d tossed his keys the night before.

While Jensen was gone, Mike smirked softly at his boyfriend as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “What are you doing?” Tom asked with a small chuckle, wrapping his arms around Mike’s waist and reading the text message he was sending over his shoulder. He didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing them because Josh and Mackenzie were both out with friends right now, and Jensen already knew they were dating. However, when Tom saw what Mike was doing, he pulled back a little, a small frown on his lips. “You’re inviting Jared to come to dinner with us?” he asked, giving his head a small shake. “You know that he and Jensen don’t get along, Mike, what are you doing?”

He quickly leaned in and crushed his lips against Tom’s, silencing his boyfriend’s worries. “Jared’s my friend and I don’t want Jensen to feel like a third wheel being around us,” he half-lied with a small shrug. “They’ve been working on the English thing together, so they should be able to get along for a few hours with us there.” Plus, Mike was going to try to talk Jared into taking a chance tonight. Maybe he could get Jared to go to the party with them. Who knew what would happen there, especially after Jared had a few beers in him. The poor kid was a lightweight and Mike was pretty sure that Jared just might blab about his feelings for Jensen if he let his guard down. A wide smile came to his lips when Jared agreed to meet them, snapping his phone closed just as Jensen came down the stairs.

“You guys ready?” Jensen asked as he pulled his sneakers on, following Mike and Tom out of the house and locking the door behind him. He didn’t both texting Josh or Mackenzie to let them know where he was going because he knew they wouldn’t worry about him tonight. Josh had been informed of the party, so it was going to be no big surprise when Jensen wasn’t home when they finally came back. Once everyone was in his car, Jensen headed off to the restaurant they were planning on eating at, completely unaware that they were going to have another guest when they got there.

When the hostess asked them how many, Jensen was prepared to say three, but Mike piped up and answered, “There’s four of us, hun. Our last guy is just running a little late.” As they were taken to their seats, Jensen frowned at Tom in confusion, his frown only deepening when Tom just shook his head. Jensen knew what that meant; it meant that Jensen didn’t want to know what was going on, which led him to believe that Mike was plotting something. It wasn’t anyone’s birthday as far as he knew, so he had no idea what could be up Mike’s sleeve.

Before Jensen had a chance to ask, however, Jared was standing next to him, the younger guy’s expression matching Jensen’s own shocked look. Quickly, Mike grabbed Jared and hugged him to his chest, insisting that he take a seat beside Jensen. Jared was clearly upset by the set-up, but he didn’t say anything, merely taking his seat next to Jensen and smiling at the other men. “Hey Tom, how are you?” he asked, trying his best not to notice that Jensen’s legs were spread wide under the table and their knees were practically touching. Mike was going to have some serious explaining to do when they were alone again, that was for sure.

Tom smiled softly at Jared as he gave him a small nod in greeting. “I’m doing all right, Jay, how are you?” he asked, smiling once more when Jared answered that he was fine. He didn’t know what Mike was trying to do, but he was definitely curious. Of course, he couldn’t ask him in front of Jensen and Jared, but when they were alone again, Mike was going to have to let Tom in on the plan here. If he didn’t know any better, Tom would have thought that Mike was trying to set Jensen and Jared up, but that was ridiculous; they hated each other!

Dinner was eaten in almost complete silence, Mike really the only one making small talk because he was trying to engage Jared in conversation with Jensen. His plan wasn’t working out as well as he thought it was going to, so he quickly moved the conversation in a different direction in a last ditch effort to salvage the night. “So Jared, we’re all headed to Christian Kane’s house for a party if you want to come with us. It’s going to be badass,” Mike exclaimed, giving Jared a pointed look that warned him he wasn’t going to take no for an answer without a fight.

A small frown came to Jensen’s lips when Mike invited Jared to the party as he tried to figure out just what was going on here. He didn’t really care if Jared went to the party or not because it was an open house, everyone was invited, but it was awkward. It seemed as if Mike was trying to go out of his way to keep Jared with them and Jensen didn’t know what to think about that. Coupled with the fact that Jared had been staring at him lately, Jensen would have almost guessed that Jared had a crush on him and Mike was trying to hook them up. That was crazy though because Mike knew that Jensen wasn’t into guys and he would only be giving Jared false hope. 

The frown on Jared’s lips matched the one on Jensen’s as he gave his head a small shake. “I don’t – I mean, I wasn’t planning on it, why?” he asked, knowing exactly what Mike was trying to do now. Actually, it was kind of pissing him off because he’d told Mike to keep that secret between the two of them and right now he might as well have been screaming it from the rooftop that Jared wanted in Jensen’s pants. He gave his head another small shake when Mike suggested that he go with them, frowning when Mike locked gazes with him purposefully, his eyes burning into Jared almost as if he was giving him the same lecture as he had last night without saying a single word. “Fine, I’ll go, why not?” he answered. “I mean, as long as Jensen and Tom don’t mind.”

Not really giving it much thought, Tom shook his head to let Jared know he didn’t care if he tagged along. Soon after, Jensen did the same, figuring that it would have been rude not to let Jared come since he wanted to and Mike had already invited him. There was really no other choice but to let Jared come that he could see. Still, it was going to be a little awkward socializing with Jared outside of his home when there was no project in front of them. Jensen was just going to have to suck it up, he supposed. He had a plan for tonight, and he wasn’t going to let anything ruin it.

Once their dinners were finished and paid for, they all climbed into their cars, Tom and Mike riding along with Jared this time, leaving Jensen alone in his car to think. All he had to do when he got there was act normal and find Danneel. As soon as he found her, he could have her hanging on him all night and no one would suspect anything was going on between him and Jared. He got enough of that at school, he didn’t need it at a party too. Not that many of their school friends were going to be there, anyway. Christian was a sophomore in college now, and he only kept in touch with a few people he remembered from high school. 

There were probably going to be a lot of the girls from school, and if the girls had boyfriends, they’d be there too. Jensen and Tom, obviously, which meant Mike was clearly going to be there, and now Jared. Christian didn’t really talk to too many others from high school, so Jensen didn’t think anyone else would be there. Sure, there was the chance that Sandy would be there and start more rumors, but Jared and Mackenzie had both spoken to her about that the last time, so he didn’t think he’d have a problem with her again. He could never be too careful though. It was probably best just to steer clear of Sandy McCoy, which meant watching out for Chad Michael Murray as well.

As soon as they walked into the house, they all broke off into their own little sections, Mike and Tom heading over to chat with Steve Carlson as Jared was dragged away by Genevieve Cortese. She had the hots for the younger man and Jensen felt kind of bad for her that she couldn’t get it through her head that Jared wasn’t interested. It only got worse when she was drunk because she practically threw herself at him, which was funny to watch, but Jared just looked so uncomfortable. Not that Jensen cared about that. His attention was only on one thing; Danneel Harris dancing across the room with Vicky, Misha Collins’ girlfriend. Jensen wasn’t sure of her last name, but he never really cared enough to ask either.

He quickly caught a glimpse of Danneel smiling at him, which he took as his cue to walk over and strike up a conversation with her. “Hey, do you mind if I steal your dancing partner?” he asked, not waiting for Vicky’s answer as he took Danneel by the hand and led her away from the crowd. “Can I get you a drink?” Jensen’s smile widened when Danneel nodded, leading him towards the kitchen where the beer was being kept. She handed one to Jensen and he popped the cap, watching Danneel’s hips sway to the music as she took a drink from her wine cooler. 

“I didn’t know if you were going to show up tonight,” Danneel smiled at Jensen, letting her hair bounce off her shoulder as she tilted her head to the side. Leaning in so she was pressed against Jensen, Danneel whispered in his ear, “I’m glad you did. Come dance with me.” Without waiting for an answer, Danneel grabbed Jensen’s hand and led him to the living room where all of the guests were dancing, fusing her hips against Jensen’s as she started swaying to the music, lacing her fingers with Jensen’s and wrapping Jensen’s arms around her waist, pressing his hands to her belly, letting him feel her move.

After a few songs, Danneel took Jensen’s hand and led him away from the floor, smiling seductively at him as she started up the stairs. Jensen knew Christian wouldn’t mind if they borrowed one of his bedrooms, so he followed more than willingly. Mike and Tom had gotten here in Jared’s car, and they could get home that way too as far as Jensen was concerned. Right now, he had his own thing to do and he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of this.

**~~**

Tom frowned as Mike wrapped himself around his shoulders and mouthed at his neck, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to them. They were off in a pretty secluded area because Steve and Christian were aware of Tom’s situation and they wanted him to feel like he could be with his boyfriend and not have to worry about anyone finding out his secret. Steve had been in the same boat with Christian before the other man had finally come to join Steve in college. Now, both men were openly gay and Christian assured Mike that Tom would be the same way once they got away from all of the high school drama. “Mike, how much have you had to drink already?” Tom asked with a small chuckle as he tilted his head to the side, allowing his boyfriend to nip and kiss at his neck.

When Mike actually giggled, Tom knew his boyfriend was way past his limit. “Okay,” he sighed, turning in Mike’s grasp and kissing his lips softly. “Let’s get you home, honey.” He rolled his eyes when Mike started pouting, though because Mike was way past drunk, he couldn’t put up too much of a fight. Once outside in the open again, Tom tried his best to take care of Mike while at the same time keeping his distance, not wanting anyone to get suspicious. Of course, David was here with Katie and if they ran into him, Tom’s secret would be public knowledge by first period tomorrow. Luckily, there was no run-in with the asshole as Tom searched for either Jared or Jensen.

Finding Jared first, Tom pulled him away from Genevieve just as she was leaning in for a kiss that Jared was trying to avoid, giving the younger man a small smile when Jared silently thanked him. “Hey, Mike’s had a bit too much to drink, Jay. Do you think we could take him home?” Tom planned on crashing at Mike’s house tonight because his parents were out of town and he didn’t feel like being alone, so it wasn’t like Jared would have to go out of his way to take them back to Mike’s place. After all, Mike and Jared only lived about five minutes away from each other.

Although Jared wanted to get out of here almost as much as Tom did, he had come here for a reason and he was going to follow through. Mike wanted him to be adventurous and go after what he wanted, so that’s exactly what Jared was going to do. Pulling his keys from his pocket, Jared handed them to Tom. “Here, just take my car and get him home. I’ll pick it up sometime tomorrow,” he offered, clapping Tom on the shoulder as he looked around the room for Jensen. There was no sign of him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here.

“How are you gonna get home?” Tom asked as he furrowed his brow, looking around the house for Jensen as well. For all he knew, Jensen had taken off and Jared would be stranded here. Tom would have felt like a real asshole if Jared let him borrow his car and then got stuck here because Jensen had bowed out early. Then again, that didn’t sound like a very Jensen-like thing to do. Usually, Jensen was one of the last people to leave a party, not the first.

It was kind of a long-shot, Jared knew that, but Mike was counting on him. Jared didn’t want to be the guy who didn’t take chances and then regret it later in life. He wanted to be that adventurous guy he’d been before his ex-boyfriend had ruined his life. Sure, there was no guarantee Jensen would want the same things as Jared, but he was about ninety percent sure that Jensen wouldn’t leave him stranded here at the party. And he was going to take that chance. “I’ll just ask Jensen if he can give me a ride home,” Jared explained with a small smile. “Go ahead; I’ll call you if Jensen decides to leave without me.”

As Tom left the house, Jared looked for Jensen, wondering where the senior could have run off to. There were bedrooms upstairs, but he couldn’t see any reason Jensen would be up there unless he was passed out in a drunken coma. That was going to be the last place Jared checked he decided as he headed towards a group of girls who he’d seen hanging on Jensen earlier that night. “Hey girls,” Jared greeted, smiling when they all screamed wildly and hugged him. “I was wondering if you’ve seen Jensen. He’s supposed to be giving me a ride a home,” Jared fibbed, frowning when the girls shook their heads in response.

After about ten minutes of searching for Jensen with no luck, he ran into Genevieve again. “Oh Genevieve, hi,” he mumbled, trying not to get himself cornered. “Do you know where Jensen is? I was kind of hoping he’d give me a ride home.” His heart sank in his chest a little when Genevieve explained that he was upstairs with Danneel, Jared giving her a small smile and a thank you as he headed up the stairs. They weren’t doing anything was what Jared had managed to convince himself, though a part of him knew it was a lie. Pushing open the first door on the right, his eyes widened as he saw Danneel on her knees with Jensen’s cock between her lips, moaning softly as she gave Jensen a blowjob.

His cheeks flooded with embarrassment when Danneel’s eyes caught his, though she didn’t even stop what she was doing. “Oh, I…sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here,” Jared stammered, pulling the door closed behind him as the scene he’d just witnessed replayed in his head. Slowly, he moved away from the door, heading back downstairs as his heart sank all the way to his belly. He’d been a fool to think there could ever be anything between him and Jensen. Feeling as though he’d just been stabbed in the chest, Jared grabbed a beer and started drowning his sorrows.


	4. Chapter 4

Surprisingly, Jensen didn’t feel as good as he thought he was going to feel after being with Danneel. Then again, they hadn’t actually had sex; Danneel had only gone so far as to give him a blow job because she didn’t want him to think that she was a slut. Maybe he’d feel better after they actually went all the way. Of course, Jensen didn’t know how long from now that was going to be. He wasn’t sure when he was going to be able to see Danneel again after tomorrow because he started back with football practice and working on the English project with Jared.

“So, I think we might have royally embarrassed Jared,” Danneel whispered as she shoved a stick of gum into her mouth. “He just walked in here in the middle of it and his cheeks got so red.” She thought he may have looked a little disappointed as well, but she didn’t think that was relevant. Jared was gay – it was public knowledge – and she would have been surprised if Jared _didn’t_ want Jensen. He was hot, and that would just prove that Jared had good taste. 

A small frown came to Jensen’s lips when Danneel told him that Jared had been in the room. He had been too preoccupied _trying_ to enjoy the blowjob to even notice that Jared had come in. “Jared was in here?” Jensen asked, his frown deepening when Danneel nodded and started congratulating herself, thinking that she had done so well and that was why Jensen hadn’t noticed. Pulling her hands off him, Jensen mumbled, “He probably wanted to talk about the project. I should…go find him.” Moving towards the door, Jensen turned back to Danneel briefly. “I’ll call you,” he promised before he headed out of the room and went to find Jared. 

He honestly didn’t know why he cared about what Jared wanted so much, but he did, and now he needed to find him. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Genevieve seemed like a good place to start because she had a major crush on Jared. Hell, Jensen wouldn’t be surprised if Genevieve kept tabs on Jared and she knew where he was at every second of every day. “Hey, Genevieve, where’s Jared?” Jensen asked once he finally found the young woman.

When Jensen asked her where Jared was, she merely shrugged, not really wanting to deal with Jensen right now. After all, he was the reason both Danneel and Jared ditched her tonight. “The last time I saw him, he was looking for you,” she explained with another small shrug. “He said something about needing a ride home because he gave his keys to Tom so Mike could get home.” When Jensen nodded and started to walk away, Genevieve called out, “If you find him, can you ask him to come find me? I was hoping for a dance before he left.”

Although Jensen had no intentions of telling Jared that Genevieve was looking for him, he nodded anyway, not wanting to make the woman angry. He had no idea where to even start looking for Jared, so he headed out onto the dance floor, hoping that he’d spot the younger man. After all, Jared was a giant compared to most people, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find him. Unfortunately, Jared didn’t seem to be on the dance floor either, which put Jensen right back he’d started.

Sighing, Jensen decided that Jared had probably just found a ride elsewhere, so he should just head home. Before he could leave though, he had to thank Christian and Steve for throwing the party and inviting him. However, as he was walking towards the back room where the two lovebirds were hiding from the crowd, he heard a familiar voice. “What are you doing?” the man whispered, his voice clearly distressed. “No, I don’t want to go up there, just leave me alone.” Another voice came from the same location, though Jensen didn’t recognize it, nor could he make out what was being said, however he could hear Jared’s response. “Ow, stop it! I said no, back off!” There was a brief pause before something slammed into a wall and something else shattered; Jensen was guessing it was a beer bottle.

Quickly, Jensen turned the corner and saw Jared pinned to the wall by an older man. He was about two or three inches shorter than Jared, but it was clear that the younger man was drunk so he was having trouble defending himself. “Sonuva…” Jensen growled under his breath, moving towards the two struggling men. Once he was close enough, Jensen grabbed the smaller man and pulled him off Jared, shoving him towards the opposite wall. “Get off him, man!” Jensen ordered, keeping his hand held out towards the man in case he tried to come at Jared again.

Jensen knew him – it was Mark Pellegrino, the drummer in Christian and Steve’s band. “What the hell, Jensen?!” Mark demanded, clearly pissed off that Jensen had shoved him off Jared. “We weren’t doing anything wrong. Chris and Steve said they didn’t care who or where we fucked.” Leering at Jared, Mark added, “You broke us up just as we were about to get to the fun part, man.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, Jensen merely staring back at Mark like he was a nut job. “He said no, Mark,” Jensen reminded, wondering if he Mark just hadn’t heard Jared over the music. Surely, Mark wouldn’t try to rape someone, right? There was no way Christian and Steve would be running with someone like that. At least Jensen hoped not because they were his friends and he wasn’t sure how he would feel about that. Jensen didn’t want anything like this to come between him and his friends, after all.

“Oh, the little slut was begging for it,” Mark argued, tilting his head to the side as he looked Jared over once more. "He was just playing hard to get. Trust me Jensen, he would have come around.” He wanted to walk over there and prove his point, but he could tell by the way Jensen was standing there and the look on his face that Jensen wasn’t going to let him get any closer to Jared. “Come on, Jared,” Mark cooed in a sensual voice. “Tell Jenny to back down and we can pick up where we left off.”

Without giving it too much thought, Jensen pulled his arm back and let it fly forward, knocking Mark into the wall with the force of the blow when his knuckles made contact with Mark’s jaw. He wasn’t sure why he was so angry about what Mark had said about Jared, but he did know that he wasn’t letting Mark get away with it. “He said no, you dick,” Jensen repeated, feeling pretty good about himself as Mark cradled his nose in his hands.

His attention was quickly pulled away from Mark and on Jared when he heard a small whimper behind him. As soon as he got close r to Jared, the younger man gripped his bicep just as his knees buckled, almost sending them both to the ground. If Jensen hadn’t been anticipating Jared’s collapse, they would have been on their asses. “I want to go home,” Jared whispered brokenly, tear-filled hazel eyes darting up to meet Jensen’s own mossy greens. “Will you take me home...please?” Jared had gotten too drunk here tonight in an attempt to drown out the feelings he’d been developing for Jensen, and now he just wanted to go sleep it off. He’d deal with this whole Jensen mess on Monday.

When Jared asked him to take him home, Jensen slowly nodded, helping Jared to his feet once more and leading him to the door. Mark had slipped away while Jensen had been tending to Jared, but Jensen didn’t care all that much; he’d call Christian or Steve later and let them know what happened. Right now, he had a _very_ drunk Jared to deal with. He helped the younger man to his car, keeping his arm around Jared’s waist so Jared didn’t stumble and fall, his movements slow as the younger man leaned heavily on him. “C’mon, get in the car,” Jensen instructed softly, allowing Jared to hold onto his wrist so he didn’t fall over when he leaned down to crawl into the passenger seat. With that done, Jensen closed the door and moved to the driver’s side, quickly shoving the keys into the ignition and driving off in the direction of Jared’s house.

Once he had Jared home, Jensen helped the younger man out of the car and walked him to the door. “Can you make it from here?” Jensen asked, knowing that it was late and Josh was probably waiting up for him. He could tell that Jared was only nodding because he though that’s what Jensen wanted to hear, so he decided to stay and help Jared into the house at least. “Here, let me do that,” Jensen offered, taking the keys from Jared’s fumbling fingers and opening the door. He then led Jared to the couch and helped him lie down, not wanting to even attempt to tackle the stairs.

Finding a nearby blanket, Jensen tossed it over Jared’s body before he laid Jared’s keys on the coffee table. “Get some sleep,” Jensen mumbled as he headed towards the door. “I’ll see you Monday. He smiled softly when Jared sleepily thanked him and told him good night. The smile remained on Jensen’s lips the entire way back to his house and the whole way up to his room. He was going to take his own advice and go to bed so he could at least get started on the poster before Monday. Sure, he couldn’t do much without the paper, but he could at least write the title on the poster. Of course, he didn’t get very far before he was out, snoring softly in his sleep.

**~~**

Monday rolled around a lot faster than Jensen would have liked as he pushed himself out of bed and hopped in the shower. He made himself a quick breakfast before he was out the door and driving to school. Today was going to be a breeze because there was an assembly that, according to Coach Morgan, was going to take up at least the first three class periods. Coach Morgan had been right for the most part, though the assembly lasted into fourth period, which meant Jensen didn’t get to see Jared all day. Honestly, Jensen had been looking forward to seeing Jared because he wanted to make sure the younger guy was fine after everything that happened Saturday night.

As soon as practice was over, Jensen texted Josh to let him know that he was heading straight to Jared’s house to work on the English project, figuring he and Jared could get some pizza or something while they watched the movie for dinner. It didn’t take Jared long to answer the door when Jensen got there, luckily, the younger man welcoming Jensen into his home before closing the door behind him and following Jensen into the living room. “Something smells good,” Jensen remarked with a smile in Jared’s direction, laying their poster on the coffee table where he figured they’d be working. “Are you making dinner or something?”

“Yeah, I just threw something in the oven,” Jared answered with a small shrug. “It’s nothing fancy because I don’t really cook, but you’re welcome to eat with me if you want to.” He smiled softly when Jensen assured him that he’d like to eat with him since they were probably going to be here for a while. “I have the paper finished,” Jared explained as he grabbed his folder from his bag. “And I rented the movie, so we can start watching it either before or after dinner.” Jared didn’t care either way, honestly. His head wasn’t exactly on the project today as much as it was on Jensen. Mike was threatening to tell Jensen Jared’s secret if he didn’t get on with it soon. Of course, Jared didn’t think Mike would really betray him like that, but he wasn’t going to take any chances – not when it came to Jensen.

It wasn’t hard to tell that Jared’s head wasn’t on the project, though Jensen wasn’t going to pry right now. The younger man had gone through something pretty traumatic at the party, and Jensen didn’t think it was really his place to force information out of Jared. He’d be here and listen when and if Jared wanted to talk, but he wasn’t going to make him tell him anything. “Well, I guess we could look over the paper now and work on the poster until dinner. Then, after we have a break to eat, we can watch the movie and finish up the poster.” It seemed like the best way to go about this as far as Jensen was concerned. He smiled softly when Jared nodded, feeling like he was actually contributing to this project very well and Jared should be proud of him. Hell, Jared _would_ be proud of him if he knew what Jensen’s plans had been when they first got together to get this thing done.

They didn’t get much done before the timer was going off, letting them know that it was time for a break so they could get some food into their system. Jared offered Jensen a beer to drink, which the older man gladly took, moving to the couch with his plate like Jared had done. “We could watch the movie while we eat,” Jared suggested as he sat his plate on the coffee table. The poster had been moved to the table where they had more room to work, so Jared didn’t have to worry about spilling anything. When Jensen agreed, Jared popped the DVD into the machine and started it up, taking a long pull from his beer as he watched the movie.

The more he tried to concentrate on the movie, the harder it seemed for him to be able to do just that. His whole body was on edge, hyper-aware of Jensen’s every movement. They’d gone through three beers each and Jared was feeling a little tipsy, which couldn’t lead to anything good because it meant that he was either going to pass out or do something stupid – the movie wasn’t even half over, so Jared couldn’t afford to do either one. As Jensen went in for a fourth beer, Jared paused the movie, closing his eyes as he waited for Jensen to come back into the room. Thoughts were running through his head about what his plans had been for the evening before Jensen came over and how he was being a chicken because he wasn’t going to follow through with them. Then, Mike’s words ran through his head, and Jared started to panic a little, wondering if it was such a good idea to back down now when that threat loomed over his head. Everything was just so confusing.

When Jensen came back into the room and took his seat on the couch, Jared started the movie again, his eyes on Jensen the whole time. Again, he had to pause when Jensen fetched a fifth beer. Jared wondered how many more Jensen could have before he was drunk. He actually had another this time, his buzz wearing off enough that he could handle one more without worrying about being useless later. The movie wasn’t over until well after ten o’clock because they had to pause so many times, but Jared didn’t care. He didn’t need to be in bed anytime soon, and Jensen said it was going to be a late night.

Just as they were about to start working on the project again, Jared leaned in and crushed his lips against Jensen’s, moaning softly at the feel of the older man’s lips against his own. He didn’t know what he was thinking, or if he was even thinking at all, as his hand fisted in the front of Jensen’s shirt, pulling him closer. The lingering tastes of beer and popcorn chicken were on Jared’s tongue as he traced the seam of Jensen’s lips, begging for entrance as another soft moan escaped him. 

At first, Jensen allowed Jared to kiss him, actually enjoying himself much to his surprise. However, when Jared tried to deepen the kiss, Jensen pulled away, a shocked gasp escaping his parted lips. What the hell just happened?! What was Jared doing? What was _he_ doing? “What just –” Jensen started, giving his head a small shake. “Why did you just kiss me?” And more to the point, why the hell did Jensen enjoy it?

Slowly, Jared pulled back, not sure what he’d been thinking just planting one on Jensen like that, but he knew that he wanted to do it again. “I…don’t know,” Jared admitted softly, shaking his head slightly. “I just…I _want_ this.” Pressing closer to Jensen, his forehead as well as his lips nearly touching Jensen’s own, Jared elaborated, “I want _you_. Please, Jensen?” At least now everything was out in the open and Jared could say that he went after what he wanted. Even if Jensen punched him in the jaw for this, Mike couldn’t accuse Jared of being too scared to take chances.

Although there was something in Jensen’s head telling him not to let Jared do this, his body was telling him something completely different. His cock was already straining against his zipper and he could feel himself leaning into Jared’s touch, wanting to have more of Jared on him. So, he ignored the voice inside him saying that this was wrong and it was going to lead to nothing good in the future and just went for what he wanted. He captured Jared’s lips with his own, his hand moving to cradle the back of Jared’s head as his tongue swept into the younger man’s mouth, mapping out the hot, wet cavern.

Another soft moan spilled from Jared’s lips as Jensen claimed his mouth and he wondered just how far Jensen was willing to take this. He allowed Jensen to just kiss him for a while, their tongues battling for dominance, which Jensen won easily, not that Jared minded. However, he soon got bored with only kissing and began to let his hands wander over Jensen’s body, groaning softly as he cupped Jensen through his jeans, giving his cock a gentle squeeze. Jared had a feeling kissing wasn’t the only thing they were going to be doing tonight if Jensen gave into his desires.

Sure enough, within the next few moments, Jensen was pushing Jared down so that he was lying on the couch, the older man’s hand pushing up under Jared’s hoodie and T-shirt to feel the firm muscles Jared kept hidden beneath his clothes. A soft moan escaped Jensen as he felt Jared’s muscles ripple under his exploring fingers before he caught Jared’s lips for another kiss. It turned out that he really enjoyed kissing him, though Jensen would never admit it to anyone other than himself. 

The teasing was getting old fast because Jared just wanted to get on with the show. He needed to feel Jensen all around him, inside him, and while the kissing and touching was nice, it wasn’t what Jared really wanted. “Ungh…Jensen, please?” Jared whispered softly his hand moving to fist in the older man’s hair as he dragged him down for another deep kiss. His hips rolled up into Jensen’s rubbing their jean-clad dicks together and eliciting a small moan from Jensen, which was swallowed up in their kiss. “Please…I want you to fuck me, Jensen, please?”

Hearing Jared moan like that for him had Jensen groaning in a mixture of pleasure and frustration. He didn’t know what he wanted, and it was pissing him off. His head and his body were sending him off in two different directions and Jensen didn’t know what to do. It was easier just to not think at all as he dragged the zipper on Jared’s hoodie down, shoving the material off to the side before pushing his hands up Jared’s shirt again.

Jared pressing up into his touch had Jensen reeling, his whole body feeling as though he was on fire. Again, he moaned when Jared raked his fingers through his hair, leaning in to press his lips against Jared’s once more. This wasn’t enough; he needed more. Jensen needed _all_ of Jared. If Jared had no objections, Jensen was going to take what he needed. Quickly, Jensen sat back, grabbing Jared’s shoulders and pulling him up with him. “Take me to your room,” he whispered in the younger man’s ear, already crawling off the couch.

When he was told to take Jensen to his room, Jared didn’t hesitate, quickly rolling off the couch after Jensen and taking the older man’s hand in his own, leading him to and up the stairs, shoving him into the first room on the left. He kicked the door closed behind him before Jared moved towards Jensen again, practically throwing himself in the older man’s arms as his lips crushed against Jensen’s once more, tongue instantly seeking out Jensen’s own. “Mmm…you’re an amazing kisser, Jen,” Jared mumbled between kisses as he walked Jensen back to his bed, allowing the other man to push his hoodie the rest of the way off his body.

As soon as they were close enough, Jared shoved Jensen so that he fell onto the bed with a small grunt, quickly following after him. Sitting on his knees straddling Jensen wasn’t exactly the most comfortable position, but Jared wasn’t about to complain as he leaned down and kissed Jensen again. Just this kissing and semi-heavy petting was turning Jared on more than he could have possibly believed, the younger man moaning into the kiss as Jensen pulled him closer.

This was wrong – Jensen knew that. Jared was only fifteen years old, and he was way too young for this. Then again, some of the chicks in their school lost their virginity at thirteen, so who was Jensen to assume that Jared hadn’t lost his virginity at a young age as well? Still, it felt awkward having Jared above him like this, kissing and rubbing against him like a cat in heat, when he knew how young Jared really was. Sure, Jared’s height may have others believing that he was older than he was, but Jensen knew better. God, now that he was thinking about it, Jared was the same age as his sister! How creepy was that?!

Of course, it was really hard to think of how wrong this was with Jared grinding into him and thoroughly mapping out his mouth with his tongue. His body arched into Jared’s as he moaned softly again, hands moving to rake over Jared’s back. There were too many layers of clothing between them, so Jensen shoved Jared back and gripped the hem of his T-shirt, pulling the fabric over Jared’s head and tossing it onto the floor beside Jared’s discarded hoodie. He wasted no time running his hands up Jared’s back again, feeling the newly exposed flesh under his palms. God, this felt too good to be wrong, right?

Once his shirt was off, Jared began to feel a little uneasy. Jensen was still completely clothed here and Jared didn’t like being the only one with his clothes off – even if it was just his shirt. Maybe this was a joke, and Jensen was just seeing how far he could get Jared to go before he started making fun of him. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to prank him because they were aware of his sexual orientation. When he had been in eighth grade, one of the other students asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance and Jared had agreed, thinking the boy liked him as well. Unfortunately, it was just a ploy to get Jared all excited only to crash his hopes when the boy didn’t show up to get him, instead walking past his house with the _real female_ date that he had for the evening.

Needless to say, Jared didn’t want that happening again. Hell, he wasn’t sure he could handle it if Jensen was just playing him right now. Leaning down, Jared pressed his lips to Jensen’s neck, kissing him softly before he whispered in the older man’s ear, “I want your clothes off, too.” He didn’t wait for a response as he pulled back, grabbing the hem of Jensen’s T-shirt and pulling, smiling softly when Jensen lifted his upper body off the bed to make it easier to get his shirt off. Maybe this wasn’t just a scam. Jared really hoped that was the case – he wanted Jensen to want him as much as he wanted Jensen.

He was absolutely convinced that Jensen’s skin was flawless as Jared ran his fingers over the other man’s newly exposed skin. “God…” he breathed, giving his head a small shake as his eyes locked with Jensen’s. “You’re beautiful.” A small smile came to his lips when he actually made Jensen blush with his comment, Jared feeling pretty pleased with that result. Again, he leaned down and captured Jensen’s lips, his hands running down Jensen’s arms to his hands, lacing their fingers together as Jared brought Jensen’s arms up above his head, pinning him there. However, Jensen didn’t let him keep that position for too long, the older man bucking his hips and effectively rolling them over, pinning Jared beneath him.

Jared gasped softly when Jensen reversed their positions and pinned him down, trying to move his arms and at least get out of Jensen’s grip. He didn’t mind about the reversal of their positions, but Jared didn’t like to be pinned down. When his ex-boyfriend showed up at his house hammered the night after they broke up and tried to force him into sex, he’d pinned Jared down like this, and Jared didn’t want to remember that. He’d only been fourteen and he’d been dating someone who was older and had stolen beer from his parent’s basement. Jared had managed to get away before anything happened, but it was still fresh in his mind sometimes. Luckily, Jensen seemed to understand that Jared wanted his hands free and let him go, sucking Jared’s skin into his mouth where he was currently attacking Jared’s neck. His hands moved down Jared’s body, skilled fingers of his right hand popping the jeans button and pulling the zipper down without even having to look at what he was doing, causing Jared to moan once more.

Pulling his head back, Jensen gazed down into Jared’s eyes, his breaths coming out in soft pants as he tried to get control of himself again. Suddenly, it all hit him at once – Jared lying in the bed with his pupils blown wide with lust, his pants open, and the hickey on his neck where Jensen had marked him – and it was all too much. He slowly shook his head as he got off the bed, brows knit in confusion because his mind was trying to process everything that had just taken place. “I-I can’t do this,” he whispered softly, grabbing his shirt off the floor. “I’m so sorry, Jared.”

Before Jared had a chance to realize fully what was happening, Jensen was out of his room and jogging down the stairs. Quickly, Jared pushed himself off the bed and started running after Jensen, fastening his jeans on his way. “Jensen, wait, please?!” he called out, frowning when Jensen just ignored him and ran out of his house. Sighing, Jared slumped against the wall, feeling even worse than he had that night in eighth grade. This whole night had turned out to be a bust and now Jared not only felt horrible, but useless as well because nothing had gotten done with the project. His head slowly bowed, pressing against his knees as he sobbed softly, wishing he could just take everything he’d done back.

**~~**

Jensen sped out of Jared’s neighborhood faster than he had ever driven before, needing to get away from that house, away from Jared. What the hell had he been thinking, allowing it to go that far?! He should have just shoved Jared away from him after the kiss and left right then. But something made him stay, and quite honestly, Jensen wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it had been. There were so many questions running through his head and he just wanted everything to stop – he needed a little bit of silence in his head before he went mad.

As soon as he reached his house, Jensen cut the engine, practically running to the front door and then through it once he had the door open. Thankfully, everyone else was asleep, and Jensen was glad that he’d warned Josh earlier about his late night. Now that he was home, Jensen could finally have a few minutes to himself to just think about what had happened. These questions weren’t just going to go away because he ignored them, after all. He needed to face this head on and try to find a way to deal with it. His project wasn’t finished yet, which meant his time with Jared wasn’t finished either, and he didn’t want this to make things awkward between the two of them. Especially since they had just been starting to get along.

Then again, wasn’t that the whole problem here? He and Jared had been getting close over the last few weeks and this was the result of that. But Jensen wasn’t gay, dammit! Jensen had no interest in fucking guys, or even _looking_ at them in a sexual way! At least he hadn’t until Jared kissed him, and it had just felt so damn good. There was nothing he could do. Jared had somehow gotten under his skin, and Jensen was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to shake him. His fears only became worse as Jared’s name spilled from his lips later that night as he stroked himself to completion before he fell into bed. He would deal with this tomorrow. Right now, he was just too tired and too freaked out to really give this situation anymore thought.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been five days, twenty three hours, thirteen minutes, and thirty nine seconds since Jensen allowed himself to be sucked in by Jared’s…charms. Now, he was at another party Steve and Christian were throwing, drowning his thoughts in booze in hopes that he’d just be able to forget about how good Jared’s lips felt against his and how damn hot Jared had been grinding against him and begging him for more. He hadn’t seen Jared since that Monday night because he’d avoided third period. Something inside him was just screaming that if he avoided the younger man, there was a chance this whole thing would go away. So far, that voice had been lying.

Sighing, Jensen moved off the dance floor, ignoring the many advances he’d gotten from various women trying to engage him in a dance. He just wasn’t feeling much like partying tonight. Right now, he wanted to talk to Christian and Steve about what he was feeling for Jared. After all, he knew his friends had gone through it themselves a few years back when they first realized that they were attracted to each other, and now Jensen was hoping they could give him some advice. “Hey guys,” he greeted as he walked into the back room with them. “I was hoping you two could help me out with a little problem I’ve been having recently.”

“Sure thing, Jenny,” Steve greeted with a smile as he waved the younger man into the room. “Come on in.” Once Jensen was in the room and situated on a chair across from them, Steve leaned forward in his chair, glancing at Christian with a small smile before turning his attention back to Jensen. “What can we help you with?” Usually, Jensen just hung all over the women at these parties, so if he was back here asking for advice, this had to be important.

Jensen didn’t even know where to start, honestly. So, he decided that the best plan was to just tell his friends the basics to start and then elaborate later if he needed to. “Jared and I almost had sex last week,” he blurted out, his cheeks reddening with the admission. He could tell that both Christian and Steve seemed to be confused, but Jensen was hoping that wouldn’t stop them from giving him advice on what he should do. After all, Jensen had no idea and it was driving him crazy. He was missing English class every day because he was avoiding Jared, and that was not a way to pass the class.

When Jensen admitted that he and Jared had almost hooked up, both men were taken by complete surprise. “Um…” Christian started, giving his head a small shake as he glanced towards Steve. “Who’s Jared? That kid you were with last week at the party? The real tall one with the puppy dog eyes?” At Jensen’s nod, Christian nodded in return, a small smile coming to his lips as he sat back in his chair once more. “Mmm…I liked him. He seemed like a sweet kid. And he was adorable.” Frowning, Christian cocked his head to the side as he gave Jensen a confused look. “So, what’s the problem with almost having sex with him? I mean, other than the fact that you didn’t go all the way?”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes when Christian could see the only problem as being him and Jared didn’t actually have sex. “What’s not the problem?!” Jensen asked, his panic rising a little bit. If they didn’t have answers for him, he could kiss his football career good-bye, because he for sure wasn’t going back to English class! “I’m not gay, Christian! I mean, I don’t care what you, or Steve, or Mike, or Tom do in your free time or _who_ you do, you know that! But me?! This isn’t me!” Hell, Jensen wasn’t even sure who he was anymore. “I mean…I don’t think this is me. I’ve never…had these kinds of feelings for a guy before. And Jared _hated_ me when this project started. I don’t know what changed, but it needs to go back to the way it was.”

Now, it was Steve’s turn to frown, the older man having half a mind to get off his chair and clock Jensen upside the head. “Why do you want it to go back?” he asked, giving his head a small shake. “You’re still stuck in the high school drama and all that shit that keeps people in the closet. You’re just like Tom, only you’re worse because at least Tom will admit that he loves Mike behind closed doors.” Finally, Steve stood, grabbing Jensen by the arm and hauling him off his chair, locking gazes with the younger man. “Now, you go find Jared and tell him how you really feel, you moron. I’m not telling you to scream it at the top of your lungs in front of your football buddies, but at least have the balls to admit it to yourself…and Jared. He has a right to know, don’t you think?”

A deep frown came to Jensen’s lips when Steve yelled at him, the younger man realizing that Steve was right. Jared did have a right to know how Jensen felt. And if he and Jared happened to get together, that didn’t mean it had to change anything on the surface. They could keep it a secret like Mike and Tom until Jensen was ready to come out of the closet. It worked for Mike and Tom, so there was no reason it couldn’t work for him and Jared as far as he was concerned. “You’re right,” Jensen mumbled as he moved towards the door, ready to leave and find Jared. “I have to go tell him. Thanks guys!” With that, Jensen was out the door, running out of the house before anyone could try to engage in conversation with him so he could get to Jared.

As soon as Jensen was gone, Christian tugged Steve into his lap, roughly pressing his lips to his lover’s. “Mmm…you are so sexy when you get all demanding like that,” he moaned softly, capturing Steve’s lips once more. He was definitely on the same page as his boyfriend as far as Jensen was concerned. Their friend had a complex because he was a football player and thought he had to be the cliché who went out with hot cheerleaders and fucked anything in a skirt, but he didn’t. Christian had seen the way Jared watched Jensen for the small period of time they were out and about the last time they threw a party and there was no denying Jared wanted Jensen. And if Jensen felt the same way, there was nothing keeping them apart other than idiotic high school reasons. He had gone through that himself during his years as a high school student, but they’d quickly dissolved once he’d moved on to college.

Smiling, Steve repositioned himself in Christian’s lap so that he was straddling the other man’s thighs, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Christian’s lips. “Well, someone needed to slap it into the kid’s head because he clearly wasn’t going to do it on his own,” he chuckled, his fingers gently carding through Christian’s hair. “Now, are we really going to sit like this and talk about Jensen, or did you have other things on your mind?” His smile widened when Christian’s lips crushed against his again, a small moan breaking from Steve as his boyfriend started stripping him of his clothes.

**~~**

He’d broken just about all of the speed limits on the roads and ran every stop sign he saw on his way to Jared, but Jensen was finally parked outside the younger man’s house and he was finding it difficult to get out of his car. The last time Jensen had seen Jared, things hadn’t exactly ended well, what with him fleeing from the house and then ignoring Jared for a week, so he was a little worried about what he was about to do. But Steve wasn’t here to give him the push that he needed, so he was going to have to man up and do it himself.

Without giving it much more thought, Jensen pushed his door open and climbed out of his car, heading towards Jared’s door. He held his breath as he knocked, waiting for Jared to answer. Jensen had no idea what he was going to say when Jared opened that door, but he supposed he’d figure something out. This had to be done, after all. If Jensen left this porch without talking to Jared, he would never forgive himself; he had a feeling Steve would kick his ass, too, so he was staying.

By the time the door opened, Jensen still hadn’t thought of anything to say, and he was now standing on Jared’s porch looking like a fish out of water as he tried to force his brain to make words come out of his mouth. “Jensen, what are you doing here?” Jared asked, confusion obvious in his sleepy voice. It was kind of late and now Jensen felt like an asshole because he’d probably just woken Jared up. 

Still, his brain and mouth weren’t working together, so Jensen did the first thing that popped into his mind – he grabbed Jared’s shirt as he walked into the house, crushing their lips together as soon as he was close enough. He moaned softly into Jared’s mouth, the familiar taste of Jared bursting onto his tongue as Jensen traced the seam of Jared’s lips, begging for entrance, which he was ultimately given. The fact that Jared was kissing him back was a good sign in Jensen’s opinion, the older man kicking the door closed once they were both fully inside before Jensen started walking Jared towards the stairs.

“Wait…wait, stop,” Jared mumbled, slamming his hand into the wall beside the stairs to stop any further progression towards his room. “You ran the last time you were here, and then you avoided me for the past week,” Jared reminded with a shake of his head. “And now you’re here and you just want to what, Jensen? Pick up where we left off and pretend like nothing happened? Because I can’t do that.” He wanted Jensen, there was no doubt about that, but he wasn’t going to let himself believe that Jensen was here and they were going to have sex, only to have Jensen get cold feet again and run off. That had nearly broken him the last time – he’d cried for hours before he finally fell asleep.

Jensen had been hoping they could do this after having sex, but it was pretty clear Jared didn’t want to wait to have this conversation. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, giving his head a small shake. “I was…confused. I didn’t know why I was feeling this way, and I ran.” Saying it out loud kind of made him feel like a dipshit, but if Jared needed to hear it, Jensen would let him. “But I was at Christian and Steve’s party tonight and all I could think about was you. I wanted to be with you. Even when Danneel was trying to get me upstairs, all I wanted to do was come find you. So, I talked to Steve and Christian about what I was feeling and they told me to just go with it and stop worrying about high school labels and all of that shit. So, here I am. Can you forgive me? Let me make it up to you?”

Of course Jared was going to forgive Jensen, and he was dying to let him make it up to him, but there was no harm in making the older guy sweat a little first. “You really hurt my feelings,” Jared mumbled, keeping his features neutral so he didn’t give anything away. “And I should just kick you out of my house right now…but I want this too much.” When Jensen smiled at him, Jared smiled back, closing the gap between them to capture Jensen’s lips, wiggling out of Jensen’s hold so he could lead the other man to his bedroom. Once they were in his room, Jared closed the door, allowing Jensen to walk him back towards the mattress. “You’re not going to leave me again, are you?” he breathed softly, head tilting to the side to offer Jensen better access to his neck.

Nipping at Jared’s skin, Jensen quickly shook his head, soothing away the burn of his teeth by pressing the flat of his tongue over the mark. “No m’not going anywhere, baby,” he whispered in Jared’s ear, pulling Jared’s T-shirt over his head and tossing it onto the floor beside them before he gave Jared a small shove, effectively getting the younger man to sit on the bed. Slowly, Jensen dropped to his knees in front of Jared, his thumbs tucking into the waistband of Jared’s sweat pants and boxers, smiling when Jared lifted his hips off the bed to make it easier for Jensen to get the rest of his clothes off. 

Now that Jared was fully naked, it was Jensen’s turn. Jared wasted no time pushing Jensen’s letterman jacket off his shoulders before he pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the growing pile of clothing on the floor. Once Jensen’s chest was bare, Jared couldn’t help but run his hands over the newly-exposed skin, biting into his bottom lip when he felt Jensen’s muscles rippling beneath his palms. When his hands reached the waistband of Jensen’s jeans, Jared quickly unfastened them, pushing them off Jensen’s hips and gladly accepting the kiss when Jensen stepped out of the remaining denim and closer to him, pushing Jared back onto the mattress further as he blanketed Jared’s body with his own.

A part of him couldn’t believe that this was happening. Jensen Ackles was actually in his bed, naked, and about to fuck him into oblivion. Jared was worried this was just a dream and he was going to wake up and he was going to be alone in bed with his hand wrapped around his dick. But this wasn’t a dream, and Jensen was really here with _his_ hands running over Jared’s body, learning every inch of him. He moaned softly as Jensen wrapped his arm around the back of his knee, pushing Jared’s legs open wider so he could slip between them, rubbing himself against the younger man’s body, eliciting gasps and moans from both of them.

Once Jensen was situated between his legs, Jared squeezed his knees together a little tighter, holding Jensen in place just enough to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere, though he still gave him enough room to thrust against him. “Ungh…Jensen,” Jared breathed, his head pressing back against the pillows as Jensen went back to attacking his neck. It was a sweet spot for him, and Jensen was definitely abusing it, not that Jared was complaining. “Fuck…please?” he all but whimpered, eyes squeezing closed as he bucked his hips into Jensen’s, whispering his pleas once more.

It was becoming clearer with each passing second that Jared didn’t want to wait anymore, and Jensen was right there with him. Thinking about this the whole way from Christian and Steve’s place to here had Jensen hard even before he touched Jared. Now, he was aching so badly, so hard that he could cut glass, and if Jared was ready to go, then so was he. “Yeah, baby, wanna fuck you so bad,” he whispered in Jared’s ear, smiling softly when the younger man groaned and arched under him. “We need lube and a condom; do you have them in here?” Jensen wasn’t sure if Jared had ever been sexually active before now, but he was about to find out, he supposed. 

Slowly, Jared nodded, his right hand slapping the nightstand to let Jensen know the lube was in there. “Th-There,” he mumbled softly. “I have lube. I don’t have condoms, though. Do we really need them? I mean, do you have something I’m going to catch?” A small chuckle escaped Jared when Jensen quickly shook his head, the older man seeming almost offended by the question. “Well good, neither do I,” he assured. “We don’t need them.”

Although Jensen wasn’t too keen on having sex without a condom, he supposed it didn’t matter while he was with Jared. If the younger man was telling the truth about not having anything, which Jensen assumed he was, there was no need to be worried. After all, Jared couldn’t get pregnant, which was the other main reason Jensen was so pro-condom. Quickly, he dug around in the drawer until he found the lube, popping the cap and squeezing a dollop into his palm. He then rubbed his index and middle fingers into the gel, getting them both slick before tossing one of Jared’s legs over his shoulders, his index finger slowly circling Jared’s entrance. “Have you ever done this before?”

He was a little embarrassed to admit it, but Jared figured that Jensen should know in case he planned on being rough, or something. “N-No,” he whispered, giving his head a small shake as he squeezed his eyes closed once more. Pleasure mixed with pain as Jensen pushed his finger into Jared’s hole, the younger man biting into his bottom lip to stifle the sounds wanting to break from him. At least Jensen was being gentle about it, using long, slow movements as he fucked Jared with his finger, opening him up for his cock. “Ungh…ahh…” Jared moaned softly as he blinked his eyes open, keeping his gaze locked on Jensen’s own eyes. Seeing the older man’s pupils blown wide with lust like this was definitely something Jared wanted to remember. 

“Am I hurting you?” Jensen whispered in Jared’s ear before he sucked the lobe into his mouth, trying to take Jared’s mind off any pain that he was causing him. He hadn’t been with many virgins, but he knew that special precautions needed to be taken so there was no major damage done. There was going to be a little bleeding, but that was to be expected. At least for a girl it was – Jensen was basically a virgin himself in this kind of situation.

When Jensen asked if he was hurting him, Jared quickly shook his head, his hand moving to fist in Jensen’s hair before he pulled the older man into a deep, passionate kiss. “No,” he whispered against Jensen’s lips. “Don’t stop, please? I…need more, please?” It felt slightly awkward and even a bit painful when Jensen added the second finger, but Jared breathed through it, knowing that if he wanted to get to the more pleasurable parts of the evening, he was going to have to deal with the preparations that would lead to them. And having Jensen buried to the hilt inside him was definitely something Jared was looking forward to.

After a few more moments of scissoring his fingers inside Jared, Jensen added a third finger as an extra precaution, wanting to make sure that Jared was definitely ready for more. His lover moaned loudly and arched into him, causing Jensen to smile widely before he dipped his head and attacked Jared’s neck again. “You’re so beautiful,” Jensen whispered in Jared’s ear, nipping the lobe once more. “I don’t understand how you do this to me.” Sucking Jared’s skin into his mouth again, Jensen added, “How you make me feel this way.”

Jared chuckled softly at Jensen’s words, giving his shoulders a small shrug. “I’m just lucky, I guess,” he mumbled as he rocked back into Jensen’s fingers, testing the waters to make sure that he was ready for what he _really_ wanted before he started begging for it. The pain was almost completely gone, leaving only pleasure as Jensen’s fingers brushed against his prostate. “Ungh…Jen…m’ready, c’mon.” Another small moan broke from him as Jensen pulled his fingers from his ass, the younger man feeling a sense of loss now that Jensen’s fingers weren’t inside him.

His dick was so hard, Jensen could barely think of anything else as he squeezed lube into his palm, stroking himself a few times to get himself slick for Jared. He chuckled softly when Jared kissed and nipped at his neck while he positioned himself outside of Jared’s entrance. “Just relax, baby,” Jensen whispered in his lover’s ear. Slowly, he pushed into Jared’s body, moving inch by inch so he didn’t hurt Jared. Once he was buried to the hilt inside Jared, Jensen held still, letting Jared adjust to the invasion. “Are you okay, baby?” he breathed against Jared’s shoulder, nipping at his skin as he waited for Jared’s reply.

Having Jensen’s fingers being replaced by his cock hurt a little more than Jared had anticipated, the younger man breathing through the pain as his fingers tightened against Jensen’s shoulders, fingernails leaving little crescent moon indents in his lover’s skin. “Y-Yeah, m’okay,” he whispered in reply, giving his head a small nod. “Just…gimme a minute.” He was actually surprised by how well Jensen took orders, the older man waiting for Jared to give him the go-ahead before he moved, even as his arms shook with the pressure of holding still. Jared took a few more minutes before he pushed back against Jensen’s cock, moaning softly as the pain remained a dull ache overpowered by the pleasure rippling through him. “Okay, move, babe, please?” he begged, one hand moving to fist his fingers in Jensen’s hair as he dragged Jensen’s head down to crush their lips together.

As soon as he was given the go ahead to move, Jensen pulled almost all the way out before he pushed back in, keeping his movements slow. Jared was so damn tight, Jensen was worried for a minute that he wasn’t going to be able to move, but it all worked out. “Fuck…you’re so tight, Jay. Relax,” he whispered in the younger man’s ear, pressing soothing kisses to Jared’s neck and shoulder as he continued his slow pace. It was almost torture going so slow, but he was going to let Jared control their pace; after all, this was a lot more painful for Jared than it was for Jensen.

The fact that Jensen was offering up so much control to Jared showed him how much Jensen really cared, as far as Jared was concerned. It was definitely comforting knowing that he wasn’t going to be forced to move faster than he was ready for because the pain was still there slightly, even if the pleasure was doing a good job of keeping his mind off it. After several minutes of keeping the pace slow, Jared angled his hips a little, moaning when Jensen’s cock hit his prostate. “Oh God…” Jared breathed, wrapping one leg around Jensen’s thigh, using it to keep himself locked with Jensen as he bucked his hips. “Faster, Jen,” he panted, eyes squeezing tightly closed in pleasure as another moan broke from him. 

Once he had permission to move faster, Jensen didn’t hesitate, his hips thrusting faster and faster as he felt his orgasm building inside him. He crushed his lips against Jared’s once more as he continued to move, pulling Jared closer to his body as he made sure his hips were at the right angle to hit Jared’s prostate with each inward thrust. In all honesty, he was surprised that he was enjoying this as much as he was. When he came here, he didn’t think he’d even be able to go this far because he was still a little freaked out by the fact that he wanted Jared like this. But now, everything was different. It was like his body was craving Jared, had been craving Jared for a long time, and Jensen was just now giving into his desires; it felt amazing.

With each thrust of Jensen’s hips, Jared felt his orgasm growing closer. He moaned into Jensen’s mouth as his fingers fisted in Jensen’s short-cropped hair, keeping him right where he was. His free hand moved to lace his fingers with Jensen’s, pushing his lover’s hand towards his achingly hard cock. He just needed a little extra stimulation to push him over the edge and this was it. Almost as soon as their joined hands touched his dick, Jared felt his balls draw up tightly against his body, his back arching off the bed, pushing his body closer to Jensen as he warned, “Oh God Jen, m’cumming!”

Jensen stroked Jared through his orgasm, the way Jared’s inner muscles clenching around his own hard cock pushing Jensen over the edge as well. He barely remembered to keep his hand moving as his own orgasm ripped through him, spilling his cum into Jared’s body, but Jared made sure their hands didn’t stop their movement until he was completely sated. When he had nothing left to give, Jensen rolled onto his back next to Jared, his breaths panting out of him as he came down from his post-orgasmic high. 

A wide smile came to Jared’s lips as he rolled onto his side and slung his arm over Jensen’s waist, feeling his lover’s cum dripping down his thighs. He didn’t care – he’d deal with that later. “That was…a surprise,” Jared smiled, snuggling up close to the older man. “After the last time I saw you, I didn’t think you’d be coming back here.” His smile widened as he looked up at Jensen and admitted, “I’m glad you came back. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since that night.”

Now, it was Jensen’s turn to smile, his arm wrapping around Jared and pulling him closer, their lips connecting as Jensen inadvertently wiped cum over Jared’s back because it was still on his hand. “So have I,” he whispered softly before kissing Jared again, moaning softly when Jared gave him the invitation to deepen the kiss. He knew he was about to be the biggest cliché in the book by running out right after sex, but it was something he had to do. “God, I wish I could stay here and kiss you all night. But I have to get home. Josh is bringing his girlfriend by the house tomorrow and we’re supposed to be meeting her for the first time. He’ll kill me if I’m late.”

When Jensen told him that he had to leave, Jared frowned deeply, pulling Jensen back into the bed when the older man tried to get up. “Wait, don’t leave, please?” he begged, knowing that he sounded like a whiney chick who had just given up her virginity and was trying to keep the man she’d given it to in the bed when he wanted nothing more than to leave, but he didn’t care. He wanted Jensen to spend the night with him and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Stay with me tonight. I wake up early in the morning all of the time. I can make sure you’re not home too late.”

Frowning softly, Jensen glared playfully at Jared before he wrapped his arms around the younger man and kissed him passionately. “You and those damn puppy dog eyes,” he mumbled against Jared’s lips before he kissed him again, rolling them so that he was lying on top of Jared. “Fine, I’ll stay here. But I have to be home no later than eight so I can shower and get ready for this meeting with Katie. Josh wants me to make a good impression.” He didn’t really care if Josh’s girlfriend liked him, but he owed it to his brother to at least try to be friendly. “Mmm…maybe you can get me out of this meeting early tomorrow. Call me and tell me we need to work on the project, or something and I’ll come over here. It’ll give us time to get caught up on everything we didn’t do last week.”

“Everything we didn’t do last week is already done,” Jared informed Jensen with a pointed look. “I did it all without you.” Smiling, Jared kissed the frown off Jensen’s lips before he promised, “But I can call you and _pretend_ that we have work to be done. And then you can come over here and make it up to me that you didn’t help finish the poster.” Another wide smile came to Jared’s lips when Jensen smiled at his plan, figuring the older man was on board with the scheme to get him over here. “It’ll have to be after three though because my uncle’s gonna be home tomorrow. He usually only stays until one, but then I have to clean the house when he leaves because he generally makes a mess, so I’ll call you around two and you can be here by three, okay?”

He nodded when Jared laid out the plan, Jensen just happy that he was going to have a good excuse to bow out early on this little get together tomorrow. There was no way Josh could keep him from his studies, after all. “Sounds perfect,” Jensen mumbled softly, kissing Jared’s neck and shoulder before trailing his lips back up to press another deep kiss to Jared’s lips. Finally, he rolled off Jared’s body, pulling the younger man into his side as he got comfortable. “Now, we should at least get a few hours of sleep before I have to get home.” He pressed another soft kiss to Jared’s temple, mumbling a muffled goodnight before he was drifting off into a light sleep, Jared doing the same soon after.

**~~**

As promised, Jared woke Jensen up the next morning around seven o’clock, figuring Jensen could be out of there in time to be back at his house by eight before anyone realized that he wasn’t home. At least that would have been possible if Jensen hadn’t insisted on having sex before he left, not that Jared minded. Of course, it did put Jensen back thirty minutes because they had at least been _trying_ to make it a quickie. “Text me when you get home. And drive carefully. I don’t want you speeding just to make it home on time and end up getting yourself killed,” Jared ordered, smirking when Jensen called him bossy before kissing him softly. “I’ll see you later.”

After one more passionate kiss that could have led to something much more exciting than going home to meet his brother’s girlfriend, Jensen climbed into his car and drove home. He made it just in time to shower and get some clean clothes on before Josh was calling for him to get downstairs. As he jogged down the stairs, he found himself wishing that Jared would change his mind about the time and just call him now, though it didn’t happen. Jensen was going to have to just get through these next few hours and then possibly complain to Jared about them later. Maybe they could swap stories about how bad their days had been.

Turns out, Katie wasn’t awful, so Jensen actually managed to have a little bit of fun. That didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful when Jared called, though he put his sad and annoyed mask on to throw off his brother and his girlfriend as well as Mackenzie. “That was Jared,” he explained with a roll of his eyes, already moving towards the door and pulling his boots on. “Apparently I have to go over there and work on the project because the due date was moved up. Something about the teacher scheduling things the same day as finals, or something.” Once his shoes were on, Jensen turned his attention back to Katie and his family, offering a smile. “I’m really sorry about this, guys. It was nice meeting you, Katie. I’ll be back later.”

With that, Jensen was out the door, not willing to be talked out of going to Jared’s house by his brother or his sister. It seemed like something they would do because he was supposed to have weekends off from Jared. He made it to the younger man’s house in record time, knocking on the door rapidly until Jared finally answered. Jensen couldn’t help but return Jared’s wide smile as the younger man asked, “Did you miss me?”

“Oh fuck, yes,” Jensen answered instantly, wrapping his arms around Jared’s waist and pushing him into the house as his lips crashed against Jared’s. As soon as they were in the house, Jensen kicked the door closed and pushed Jared towards the stairs. They only broke the contact they had long enough to get up the stairs to Jared’s bedroom before they were kissing again, the soft _click_ of Jared’s bedroom door closing falling on deaf ears as they tumbled into the bed in a mess of limbs and clothes that were halfway off their bodies.


	6. Capter 6

“I want to tell Mike about us,” Jared admitted as he and Jensen lay in bed together. “I don’t want to keep this a secret from my best friend. He’ll figure out that something’s up and then I’ll end up telling him later anyway. It’s better to just come clean from the start.” Jared could tell that Jensen wasn’t loving the idea from the way his body tensed up, but Jared wasn’t about to back down from this. “Please Jensen?” he whispered, moving so that he could look into his boyfriend’s eyes, using his “puppy dog eyes” as Jensen called them.

Although Jensen wasn’t too keen on the idea of having someone else know about his and Jared’s relationship, he figured he could allow Jared to tell his best friend. After all, Jensen was planning on telling Tom when he saw him at practice the next day. He had been waiting to be sure that he and Jared weren’t just a fling before he told Tom, and the last few weeks had proven that he and Jared were the real deal. When he dropped everything to go see Jared because his uncle had dropped by for a surprise visit and beat the shit out of him in a drunken stupor, Jensen was positive that this wasn’t just a fling. “Fine, tell Mike, baby,” he smiled, leaning up and pressing his lips to Jared’s. “I was planning on telling Tom anyway. Just…make sure he keeps it a secret. I’m not…ready for everyone to know yet.”

In a way, Jared wanted to tell everyone he met that Jensen was his boyfriend, but he knew how hard it could be for someone to come out of the closet, and he wasn’t going to push Jensen into something he wasn’t ready for. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t tell anyone,” Jared promised with a small smile. “Well, he’ll probably want to talk to Tom about it, but if you’re already telling Tom, then we have nothing to worry about.” He pressed another soft kiss to Jensen’s lips as he settled back into the mattress, resting his head on Jensen’s chest again. “So, are you staying here tonight, or did you need to go home?”

When Jared asked if he was staying the night, Jensen sighed softly, glancing at the clock. “I wish I could, baby, but I don’t have clothes for tomorrow. And I promised Mackenzie I’d drive her to school while her car is getting inspected.” It was only seven o’clock, so they had time to be together before he left. “But we have some time before I have to go home. So, what do you wanna do?” The lack of a verbal answer and Jared just snuggling into Jensen’s side further let the other man know that Jared wanted to take a nap. Jensen was fine with that plan; if Jared fell asleep, Jensen could sneak out without him noticing and it would be like he’d slept here all night in Jared’s mind.

**~~**

The next day at practice, Jensen made the decision to tell Tom that he and Jared were an item once everyone else had gone home. “Hey Tom,” he called out, catching up with his friend as Tom jogged towards the locker room. “I have to talk to you when everyone’s gone. Stay after a few minutes with me? Meet in the weight room?” When Tom nodded, Jensen smiled, clapping his friend on the shoulder before he headed towards the weight room. He’d either shower once he was done with his workout, or when he got home. Jensen just needed a few minutes to get his words in order and plan how he was going to break the news of him and Jared to Tom. After all, Jensen had no idea how Tom was going to react to this news, and he didn’t want to lose a friend over this. Not that he thought Tom would actually stop being friends with him because of this; Jensen hadn’t broken their friendship when Tom confessed he was dating Mike.

As soon as the door opened and Tom walked through, Jensen grabbed his friend and pulled him towards one of the machines farthest away from the door so no one passing by would hear their conversation. “Whoa, hey, what do you have to tell me that’s so damn important?” Tom asked with a small chuckle, letting Jensen shove him into the seat of the closest weight machine. “I mean, I’m supposed to be meeting Mike for dinner in an hour and I have to go home and get washed up.”

Without giving it much more thought, Jensen blurted out, “I’m dating Jared.” He bit his bottom lip as he waited for Tom’s reaction, wondering if just spitting it out like that was the best idea. Maybe Tom needed to be talked into it, have a little small talk and conversation before he just pushed the truth onto him. Oh well, it was too late for that now, Jensen supposed, slumping into the bench beside his friend, worried that Tom wasn’t going to approve of his and Jared’s relationship.

“That’s all you wanted to tell me?” Tom asked with a small frown, giving his head a small shake when Jensen started to ask why he wasn’t surprised. “Mike told me that after fourth period,” he explained with a small smile. “And while I’m happy for the two of you, if I’m late picking up Mike, he’s going to have my balls – and not in a good way.” Chuckling, he stood and pulled his friend into a big hug. “I’m really happy for the two of you. It’s about damn time you guys finally admitted your feelings and went for it. I’m sure Mike will want to double date now, so don’t be surprised if we have plans next weekend.”

Before Jensen could get another word out, his cell phone rang, causing him to jump slightly. “It’s Jared,” he explained with a small smile. “I should take this. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, Jensen headed towards the doors leading out of the building, unaware that David was lurking behind the door of the locker room, having heard every word of the conversation. “Hey baby, what’s up?” Jensen answered, chuckling when Jared asked what he was doing. “I’m on my way home. I gotta shower before I come over there, I stink.”

Jared frowned when Jensen told him he was going to shower before he came over, giving his head a small shake although he knew Jensen couldn’t see it. “Come over first,” he suggested, pacing around his room with anticipation. “You can shower here…with me. I mean…we could shower together. It will save me from having to shower later tonight.” And it would give Jared a chance to test a theory Mike had just proposed to him.

According to Mike, the relationship couldn’t be defined as a relationship until there were blowjobs involved. Now, Jared knew that it was just an idiotic theory brought on by men who were determined to get their dicks sucked, but Jared kind of wanted to know what it felt to have Jensen’s cock in his mouth. And sure, he sounded kind of clingy, begging Jensen to come over now, but he was sure Jensen would understand. After all, they had spent nearly every minute they could together after Sebastian had come home unannounced and beat the hell out of him when he was drunk. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but it was the first time Jared had someone to make him feel safe afterwards.

A wide smile came to Jensen’s lips as he climbed into his car, starting the engine. “You want to shower with me?” he teased with a small chuckle. “Like…naked with water cascading down our bodies and soap sliding around on those washboard abs of yours?” When Jared answered him, Jensen could practically see the blush on his boyfriend’s cheeks even if he wasn’t anywhere near him. “Well, when you put it like that, I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he answered, clicking his phone shut after Jared told him to hurry up.

True to his word, Jensen made it to Jared’s house in about eleven minutes, letting himself in because he knew that Jared didn’t lock his doors very often – especially when he knew that Jensen was on his way over. Almost as soon as he was in the house, Jensen was met with an armful of Jared, their lips instantly devouring each other. “You’re late,” Jared chastised between kisses, pulling Jensen’s shirt over his head and tossing it to the floor, allowing Jensen to pull his shirt off as well. “You were right, you do stink,” he teased, lips skimming down Jensen’s throat to kiss his collarbone. Jared was smart enough not to leave marks on Jensen where other people could see them, but he did enjoy marking him up.

Chuckling softly, Jensen reached for Jared’s jeans, unfastening the denim before he shoved his hand inside, groping Jared’s ass through the thin cotton of his boxers. “One minute,” he whispered as he nipped at Jared’s ear lobe. “And that was because I hit a red light.” He pulled his hands from Jared’s pants when the younger man told him that he smelled bad, frowning at Jared. “I told you that I did. But I seem to remember someone not caring and all but _begging_ me to come over here. And I remember a shower being mentioned. So, lead the way, baby.”

He smiled widely as he took Jensen’s hand, Jared leading them upstairs to where he already had the towels and wash cloths ready for their shower. Jared made quick work of getting the water at the right temperature before he turned back to Jensen and yanked his shorts off, taking Jensen’s boxers with them. “You’re lucky I like you so much, otherwise I wouldn’t touch you until you were clean,” he smiled, pressing another kiss to Jensen’s lips as Jensen shoved at his jeans and boxers.

Once they were both naked, they stepped into the shower, letting the warm water cascade over their bodies. Jared was quickly pinned to the wall as Jensen nipped and kissed his neck, smiling against the soft skin as Jared gripped Jensen’s biceps, his eyes squeezed tightly closed in pleasure. He continued to attack Jared’s neck for a few more moments before he pulled back, squeezing shampoo into his palm. “C’mere baby,” he whispered softly, starting to wash Jared’s hair as soon as the younger man did as he was told. It felt good to be able to touch Jared like this, massaging the shampoo into his hair and smiling when Jared moaned softly.

They had never been in the shower together, so this was an experience that needed to be cherished in Jared’s opinion. Having Jensen washing his hair felt really nice and he was enjoying it more than he could have imagined he would. Usually, when he was taking a shower, it was just to get clean – get in, wash up, and get out. But right now, it was so much more. This was about showing Jensen how much he appreciated his company and giving him hopefully the best head of his life. Then again, Jared was probably going up against a lot of people since Jensen was the captain of the football team, but he was going to do his best to outshine the others. Something in him really wanted to make Jensen forget about all his other partners – especially Danneel – and focus on only him.

As soon as the shampoo was out of his hair, Jared leaned closer to Jensen, teeth scraping across his lover’s chin before he pressed his body close against Jensen’s, making sure the older man could feel every hard plane of his body. “I want to taste you,” Jared mumbled against Jensen’s skin, sucking at his neck as his hand slid lower, cupping Jensen’s semi-hard cock. He smiled softly when Jensen moaned at the touch, glad he could elicit those kinds of noises from Jensen. Rubbing his cheek against Jensen’s like a cat in heat, Jared begged, “Please, let me? I want to…so bad.”

“Y-Yes,” Jensen breathed against Jared’s lips. His fingers carded through Jared’s hair as he pulled the younger man closer, their teeth clashing with the intensity of their kiss. “Oh fuck yes, Jared, please?” Jensen whispered, his hips bucking into Jared’s hand. Just the thought of Jared sucking his dick had Jensen growing harder in his boyfriend’s hand. A soft whimper escaped him when Jared removed his hand, Jensen’s hips bucking into thin air as a silent plea to Jared. “Baby, please?” Jensen whined, grabbing Jared’s hand and pulling it against his body again, only to groan in frustration when Jared pulled away again.

Although Jared wanted nothing more than to drop to his knees and suck Jensen’s brain out through his cock, he knew that he had to be patient. If he just gave it up without at least a little bit of teasing, he would feel bad that he didn’t give Jensen any foreplay. So, even with Jensen begging him to just do it already, Jared was going to take his time. Slowly, he dipped his head, pressing his lips to Jensen’s as he pulled his hand out of Jensen’s grip, not willing to touch until he was ready to do so. He kept the pace slow as he kissed a trail down Jensen’s neck, over his collar bone, and down his chest, sucking one of Jensen’s nipples between his lips and teasing it with his teeth. As soon as he had Jensen’s nipple hardened to a tight bud, he moved to do the same with its twin, moaning softly when Jensen pulled his head closer, Jared’s hands moving to Jensen’s hips to hold him in place.

Continuing with his slow pace, Jared sucked down Jensen’s abs, nipping here and there as he went before he reached his destination, looking up at Jensen from his position on his knees before he took the older man in his hand, stroking almost teasingly to keep Jensen on his toes; he wasn’t done playing with him yet. Another small smile came to Jared’s lips when Jensen pleaded with him to get with the program, the younger man chuckling softly before he gently touched the head of Jensen’s dick with his tongue. “Patience, babe,” he whispered, blowing hot breaths against Jensen’s cock.

Almost roughly, Jensen fisted his hand in Jared’s hair, pulling his lover’s head closer to his body. “Baby, stop teasing,” he ordered, his voice laced with want. His head fell back to rest on the shower wall when Jared finally took him between his lips, Jensen moaning softly as Jared’s tongue teased his slit. “Fuck, Jay…God, so good,” he moaned as his fingers tightened in Jared’s hair, pulling the younger man’s head closer to him slightly, making sure that he didn’t choke his boyfriend at the same time.

Surprisingly, Jared was good at this; _really_ good at this. Jensen was barely keeping it together because Jared was so damn good at this. When Jared started rolling his balls between his fingers, Jensen was lost, his orgasm coming up on him so fast he barely had time to warn Jared before his seed was shooting from his cock and into Jared’s mouth. The fact that Jared swallowed everything that Jensen gave him was enough to have Jensen hard all over again.

A small groan escaped him when Jared slanted his mouth over his, Jensen parting his lips to allow Jared’s seeking tongue the access it was looking for. His hands slid down Jared’s body, gripping the firm globes of Jared’s ass and pulling him closer, their bodies now flush together. Slowly, he nudged Jared’s head to the side, licking, sucking, and nipping at Jared’s throat because he knew the younger man liked it. “I’d do the same for you, baby, but I’m just…I’m not good at it.” Plus, Jensen wasn’t sure how he felt about having Jared’s dick in his mouth yet – it was all just a little too weird for him still. “But I can still get you off, Jay.”

While it was true that Jensen had never given a blowjob before, Jared would be willing to be that Jensen wasn’t as awful as he thought he was. Still, Jared wasn’t going to push Jensen into something he didn’t want to do, so he kept his mouth shut and tried to keep the look of disappointment off his face. Of course, when Jensen wrapped his fingers around his dick, it was easy to forget that he wasn’t getting _exactly_ what he wanted. “Ungh…” Jared whimpered as Jensen’s hand slid along his length, his body falling against Jensen’s as his knees nearly buckled. “Oh God, Jen, faster…please?”

He did as he was asked, Jensen moving his hand faster, squeezing on the upstroke before his thumb over the mushroom head of Jared’s dick, dipping into the slit briefly before repeating the process. “You’re so fucking hot like this, Jay,” he breathed into the younger man’s ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth before nipping softly. Jensen’s fingers curled around Jared’s bicep, holding his lover close as he whispered, “Cum for me, baby. Jay, come on, you know you want to.” His voice lowered an octave as he added, “You know I want you to, baby.”

Before Jared even fully realized what was happening, his body was going rigid, balls drawing up tight against his body as he nipples pebbled. Jensen’s name was ripped from his throat as the first ribbon of cum shot from his cock, coating Jensen’s hand as well as his thigh. “Oh my God,” Jared breathed, chuckling breathily as he pulled back to look at his boyfriend. “That was…hotter than I expected it to be,” he admitted with another small chuckle. “We should do this more often. I…like showering with you, Jen.”

Smiling softly, Jensen kissed Jared’s lips before he answered, “I like showering with you too, Jay. But we should probably wash up for real because the water’s getting cold.” Another small moan escaped him when Jared captured his lips again, Jensen chuckling once his lips were free again. “That’s not washing up, Jay. That’s _getting_ up…again.” Grabbing one of the washcloths, Jensen lathered it up with soap before he started washing Jared’s shoulders and down his arms. 

Because the water was getting cold, both men made quick work of getting their bodies washed off, Jared promising that the next time they showered together, they’d actually take time to enjoy the “shower” part of it instead of focusing on the other aspects. “You know, we could always wait half an hour and then jump back in,” Jared suggested teasingly. “The water should be hot by that time.” He knew that it wasn’t going to happen, but he could tease Jensen about it anyway. After all, when Jensen pouted, his bottom lip protruding over his upper lip, Jared thought he was the hottest thing on the planet.

“You’d like that too much,” Jensen answered with a small smile before he pulled Jared against him as kissed his lips once more. “Besides, I have to get home. Josh said that if I don’t make it home in time for dinner, he’s going to be pissed. And I can’t deal with a pissed off brother right now, baby.” Jensen had so much else on his plate right now, he knew that it was best to keep Josh happy. He could see that his leaving was upsetting Jared, so he kissed him again, taking the younger man’s mind off the fact that he was leaving him alone for a few more hours. “But I can come back later and spend the night if you want me to,” he assured his boyfriend. “Mackenzie said that she’s getting a ride from Sandy tomorrow morning, so I can stay here tonight and…keep you company.”

A wide smile came to Jared’s lips when Jensen assured him that he could spend the night here with him. “You can?” he smiled, his voice sounding a little too hopeful even to his own ears, though he couldn’t find it in himself to care all that much. At Jensen’s nod, Jared’s smile widened, the younger man crushing his lips to Jensen’s once more. “Yes, I want you to come back and spend the night with me.” This was going to be the first night they spent together since their first time together and Jared was determined to make it a good one. “So…what time can I expect you back then?” he asked, wanting to make sure that he was ready when Jensen finally got back here. After all, there were a lot of things he could do to thank Jensen for coming back to spend the night with him, and Jared wanted to do as much as he could to show his appreciation.

Jensen shrugged slightly when Jared asked when he could expect him back. “I’m not sure yet. Probably a little later. I wanna say around seven. If Katie comes over, then it might be a little later than that.” Leaning in, he pressed his lips to Jared’s again, fingers fisting in the younger man’s hair as he dragged his lips down Jared’s throat. “I’ll text you if I’m going to be later than seven,” he promised. Reluctantly, he pulled away and started getting dressed, knowing that he was going to have to take another shower when he got home because he was putting his stinky workout clothes back on. “I’ll see you later, baby.”

With one last kiss, Jensen was out the door, heading to his car before driving off in the direction of his house. He realized as soon as he got there that Katie was going to be joining them for dinner, quickly shooting Jared a text to let him know he might be later than seven because Katie was already there. He chuckled softly when Jared responded with a frowning face, shoving his phone into his pocket after replying with a heart. He was going to try to get out of there so he could be at Jared’s place by seven, but he didn’t want to upset Josh. Jared would understand if he was a few minutes late, but josh wouldn’t be happy if he bowed out too early.

As soon as he walked into the door, he announced that he was getting in the shower before heading straight up the stairs, not wanting anyone to start a conversation with him until he was clean. Thoughts of what he and Jared had done in the shower ran through his head as he cleaned his body, making sure he didn’t smell like sweat as he stepped out of the shower. Thankfully, his reviews of Jared and his shower didn’t give him wood; that would have been embarrassing, for sure. Once he was dressed again, he jogged down the stairs and joined everyone else at the table, smiling at his brother because Josh was giving him a look that was making Jensen think he was in trouble, or something. He didn’t remember doing anything wrong, but that didn’t mean anything; Jensen could have easily done something without realizing it. After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time he’d done something like that.

Dinner went by with light conversation the entire time, which Jensen was thankful for. There was nothing worse than those awkward moments of silence while trying to keep the room comfortable. Luckily for them, Katie was a chatterbox and if she even thought the room was getting too quiet, she’d strike up another conversation. Jensen was really starting to like her. She would definitely make a nice addition to the family if Josh ever decided to tie the knot. The thought of significant others brought up the question as to how he was going to break the news to Mackenzie that he was dating her best friend…again, and also how he was going to tell Josh that he was gay. He didn’t think the older man would have a problem with it, but the conversation was definitely going to be weird. 

Finally, around six forty-five, Jensen excused himself from the table, giving Josh a look to let the older man know he wanted him to follow him into the living room. When they were in the room, Jensen explained, “I have to leave. I promised Jared that I would go over there and work on the project with him some more. I mean, we’re almost done, but he wants to have it finished before the weekend.” He was glad that he hadn’t told Josh he was going to Jared’s house after school because then he wouldn’t have had an excuse as to why he had to leave now. Sooner or later, he was going to have to tell Josh about him and Jared, and Jensen was realizing that it was probably going to have to be sooner rather than later if Jared wanted him to come over every night like he seemed to. Sure, some would say that it was a little clingy, but Jensen kind of liked it.

It wasn’t hard to tell that Josh was upset about him leaving, but it was for a good cause as far as Jensen was concerned. And sure, maybe Jensen wasn’t being _completely_ honest with his brother, but he was at least being honest about _where_ he was going. Eventually, he’d tell his brother about his relationship with Jared, but right now he just wanted to get to the younger man. “Fine, Jensen,” Josh answered with a small sigh. “Just…don’t get home too late.”

Even though he was planning on spending the night at Jared’s house, Jensen merely nodded, wanting to please his brother. He’d text him later and let him know that he’d be spending the night and hope for the best. Of course, there would probably be consequences later, but he wasn’t going to worry about it now. “I’ll be back as soon as I can be,” Jensen promised, slipping up the stairs unnoticed so he could grab a change of clothes for the next day. Once he had his clothes, he shouted out a quick goodbye to Mackenzie, Josh, and Katie before he was out the door.

**~~**

Jared jogged down the stairs with a wide smile on his lips as the person at his door knocked impatiently. “I’m coming!” he called with a small chuckle. Opening the door, Jared said, “You know that you can just come on it. I leave the door open when I know you’re coming.” However, when Jared realized that Jensen wasn’t the man at his door, he frowned deeply, his demeanor instantly going from happy and bubbly to distant and almost frightened. “David, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you, baby,” David answered, a drunken smile on his lips as he leaned heavily against the door frame. “The truth is, I miss you, Jay. And I want us to be together again. I’m ready to come out of the closet and be with you for real, baby.” Of course, there was a chance that was just the alcohol talking, but David didn’t care. David was horny and he’d always wanted to know what it would be like to be inside Jared. After all, when they had been together, Jared always refused to have sex with him because he claimed that he wanted it to be special. Well, this was special enough for him. 

As soon as David started calling him ‘baby,’ Jared knew there was something wrong. It was obvious that the older man was drunk, and Jared wanted nothing to do with him. He nearly laughed at the idea of getting back together with David, Jared quickly shaking his head. “No way in Hell,” he answered firmly, leaving no room for argument. “I’d _never_ take you back. And besides, I’m with someone else now. Someone who actually cares about me and _wants_ to be with me.” Jared wasn’t sure where this sudden bravado was coming from, but he liked it. Usually, when David came anywhere near him, he was scared out of his mind. But now, he felt powerful – like he was in control.

A loud scoff left David when Jared told him that he was with someone who actually wanted to be with him. There was no such thing. For someone like Jared, anyone who wanted to be with him was only there for one reason, and one reason alone; his looks. Jared was hot, and anyone could see it. Now, if people knew how hard it was to get Jared to spread his legs, they wouldn’t want him. But David wasn’t here tonight to ask Jared for sex; he was going to have sex with Jared even if he had to force the younger man to let him in. “Who are you with now?” he demanded, having heard Jensen and Tom’s conversation earlier that day. “Jensen Ackles? Like he really loves you! You’re probably nothing more than a piece of ass, Jared. Let’s face it, Jensen Ackles cannot just be a one woman, or man, kind of guy.”

When David said such things about Jensen, Jared frowned, wanting to shove the older man away from his door, but he refrained. If he actually made a move to hurt David, there could be legal consequences, and that was the last thing he needed right now. “You don’t know a damn thing about Jensen,” he argued with a small shake of his head, moving to close the door in David’s face instead. However, when Jared tried to push the door closed, David slapped his hand against the door and pushed it right back open. “What are you doing?!” Jared demanded, trying to close the door again. “Get away from me!”

Angrily, David pushed the door open widely, knocking Jared out of the way in the process as he forced himself into the house. “You’re not listening to me, Jared!” David growled, grabbing Jared and slamming him against the wall. His lips roughly crushed over Jared’s, tongue forcing its way into the younger man’s mouth. When Jared tried to push him away, David growled in anger once more, shoving Jared into the wall harder in an attempt to make him behave. He wasn’t going to stand for Jared trying to push him away so he couldn’t get what he wanted. After all, Jared was nothing but a whore, and David was ready to make this whore his again. Screw Jensen Ackles; David wasn’t going to let that man take anything else from him, dammit!

As David ravaged his mouth, Jared felt like he was going to vomit. This is the last thing he wanted, or needed, right now. He hadn’t allowed this to happen the last time David showed up drunk on his doorstep, and things haven’t changed since then. “Ow, David, get off me!” Jared yelled once his lips were free, pushing at David’s shoulders and his face when he tried to kiss him again. “Stop it, David…no, don’t!” Jared protested, doubling his efforts to knock David away. Unfortunately, Jared was only fifteen and although he was tall, he didn’t have a lot of muscle mass yet. On the other hand, David was nineteen, almost twenty, and he worked out for the football team almost every day. Jared didn’t stand a chance and he knew it.

With each shove and protest that left Jared’s lips, David became angrier and angrier until he finally couldn’t take it anymore. Roughly, he backhanded Jared before he grabbed his upper arm and started dragging him towards the stairs. He’d been here before, so he knew where Jared’s bedroom was, tossing the younger man into the room once they were there. “You’re going to give me what I want, Jared,” he assured Jared with a small nod. “I’m not taking no for an answer. I was with you for a year and you _never_ had sex with me – you refused. But you’re with Jensen for what, five minutes, and you’re already spreading your legs?!” Shaking his head, David added, “Well, you’re going to let me have sex with you now, baby. I _deserve_ it, dammit!”

Dragging Jared to the bed, David quickly shoved him onto his back and straddled his hips, forcing Jared’s arms above his head where he pinned them down. “Don’t fight me on this, Jared,” David warned, pulling a knife from his pocket and pressing it against Jared’s throat. “Everything will go a lot more smoothly if you just give me what I want. And then we can go back to living our lives exactly as we have before. Jensen doesn’t ever have to know about this, baby.”

Although every part of his body was telling him to fight David off, he couldn’t move. The knife to his throat had him paralyzed with fear. He couldn’t even work up enough courage to beg David to just leave him alone. This had happened once before, though it hadn’t gotten this far. Luckily, Sebastian had come home early and yelled at Jared for having a man in the house, so David had fled. Sebastian wasn’t coming home tonight though – he never came home during the week unless it was absolutely necessary. Jared didn’t think his luck could be that good. As David slowly took the knife and ran it down Jared’s chest, slicing away his shirt, the younger man felt a tear slide across his temple and into his hair. God, he just wanted this to be over.

Before David could go any further, the front door suddenly opened and Jared heard Jensen call out for him, the younger man breathing a sigh of relief. He’d completely forgotten that Jensen was coming over tonight during the chaos that had been happening around him. His brain was working faster than he thought possible as he saw an opportunity to get away and he took it. While David was preoccupied with looking at the doorway to make sure Jensen didn’t come up here and catch him by surprise, Jared kicked the older man in the crotch and watched as he doubled over in pain off the bed. 

Jared didn’t wait to see if David would recover before he was off the bed and running out of the room, closing his door behind him to slow David down in case he was following. He nearly tripped over his own feet going down the stairs, but luckily when he fell off the last step, Jensen was there to catch him. “Whoa, slow down, baby,” Jensen chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist. A small frown came to his lips when he realized that Jared’s shirt had been cut open, the older man giving his head a small shake. “What the hell happened here?” he asked, just now realizing that the house was also in disarray, much like Jared.

When Jensen asked what had happened here, Jared couldn’t hold back his tears anymore, the younger man falling apart as he hid his face in Jensen’s neck. Again, Jensen wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist, comforting the younger man as he tried to get to the bottom of what had happened. “He tried to rape me,” Jared sobbed against Jensen’s shoulder, his whole body shaking as tears slid down his cheeks. Although he was trying to stay close to Jensen so the older man couldn’t see his face, Jensen managed to pull him back so they were looking into each other’s eyes, Jensen quickly asking who had tried to hurt him. “David – he’s upstairs. I…kicked him and then I ran down here to you. I don’t know if he’s still up there, Jen, just please, get me out of here.”


	7. Chapter 7

Jensen frowned when Jared told him that David was here and he’d tried to rape him. Now, Jared was begging Jensen to get him out of here, but all Jensen could think of doing was going up there and kicking the shit out of David for trying to hurt Jared. “Baby, calm down, all right – listen to me!” Jensen ordered, giving Jared a small shake to make him stop crying and focus on what Jensen was trying to say. “Listen…go sit on the couch and call 911. I’m going upstairs to see if he’s still here.” He quickly silenced Jared’s protests with a firm shake of his head, letting Jared know that this wasn’t up for debate. 

Although Jared wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of here, he knew that Jensen was right. He’d made the mistake of not calling the police the last time David had come to his home and tried to rape him; he wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time. He slowly moved towards the couch and picked up the landline, quickly dialing 9-1-1 as he watched Jensen walk up the stairs. “Jensen, be careful,” he warned, knowing that David still had his weapon and there was a chance he would use it on Jensen. When the woman on the other line asked what his emergency was, Jared answered, “I was attacked. A man came into my home and tried to rape me. He’s still here, please hurry! It’s 814 May’s Lane.”

As he walked up the stairs, Jensen made sure to keep his eyes open for David, not wanting to let the older man get the jump on him. Jared had warned him David had a weapon and if David was still here, Jensen needed to be careful. He knew that any time someone had a weapon and alcohol in their system, it wasn’t safe. Besides, it wasn’t like he and David were exactly friends, so David would probably have no qualms about injuring him. Actually, it was safe to say that they hated each other. And if David hurt him bad enough that put David in line as the first-string quarterback, which is what he wanted. Opening the door to Jared’s room, Jensen saw that there was blood on the floor beside Jared’s bed.

Quickly, Jensen ran towards the blood pooling on the floor, frowning softly when he saw that David was lying there, barely breathing with a knife sticking out of his abdomen. “Fuck,” Jensen muttered, turning towards the door and heading down the stairs. “Are they on their way?” he asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs, pulling Jared into his arms again. “Good because I found David. He’s on your floor bleeding out as we speak.”

Hearing that David was bleeding on his floor, Jared frowned, quickly turning his attention to the stairs. “What…do you mean? How is he bleeding on my floor? I didn’t even kick him that hard.” Suddenly, it clicked in Jared’s head, the younger man paling significantly. “The knife he had in his hand. It must have fallen out when I kicked him and…he stabbed himself?” When Jensen nodded, Jared felt like he was going to lose his dinner. Quickly, he moved towards the kitchen, ripping the lid off the garbage can and throwing up.

When Jared left his arms, Jensen quickly followed him, rubbing the younger man’s back as he vomited in the trash can. “Hey, it wasn’t your fault, baby,” he soothed. “You were trying to protect yourself. He came in here and tried to hurt you. If you hadn’t gotten him off you, he would have raped you.” Pulling Jared into his arms once he was finished dry heaving, Jensen ran his fingers through Jared’s hair, soothing him. “It’s all right, baby. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

It took the ambulance about ten minutes to arrive and the police were right on their tails. Jensen immediately ordered the EMTs up to Jared’s bedroom while the police officers had Jared downstairs for questioning. “Can you tell us what happened, Mr. Padalecki?” Officer Smith asked, clicking his pen so that he could write anything important down. He smiled softly when Jensen came back downstairs and took a seat beside Jared.

Before Jared could answer, his door burst open, Mike and Tom letting themselves in, pushing past police officers in their attempt to get at Jared. “What the hell happened here?” Mike asked, obviously flustered by the situation. He and Tom had been watching a movie at Mike’s place when the ambulance and police officers arrived. Now, Mike was curious about what was going on and he’d insisted that they have a look, even as Tom protested. “Jared, are you all right?” He could tell that Jared was shaken up and he was determined to get to the bottom of this.

“No, it’s fine, he’s my friend,” Jared explained when the officers tried to keep Mike and Tom away from them. As soon as Mike was allowed through, he ran to the couch and hugged Jared, demanding to know what happened again. “It was David,” Jared explained, curling in on himself as he leaned on Jensen, taking comfort from his boyfriend. “He showed up here drunk and he tried to rape me again.” A tear slipped down his cheek when he explained what happened, Jensen rubbing his arm lovingly in an attempt to comfort the younger man.

Anger was clear on both Mike and Tom’s faces when Jared explained what happened, though Tom took it a lot better than Mike. “What?” Mike hissed, brows knitting in confusion as he frowned at Jared. “Sonuvabitch…I’m going to kill that asshole!” Before either Jared or Jensen could finish the story of what had happened, the EMTs were hauling David down the stairs and out to the ambulance so they could take him to the hospital. A frown came to Mike’s lips as he watched, the young man not even sure what to think about what he’d just seen.

Seeing that Mike was confused, Jared explained, “He had a knife held to my throat. And when Jensen came in, David got distracted and I kicked him away from me. He…fell onto the knife he’d been holding.” Another tear slid down Jared’s cheek as he continued to tell Mike and Tom what happened, the younger man curling into Jensen’s side further as his boyfriend pulled him in close and pressed his lips to Jared’s temple. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if –”

Jensen didn’t let Jared finish his sentence, quickly shaking his head and kissing Jared’s lips. “Shhh…baby, listen to me – this isn’t your fault. If anything happens to him, it’s not your fault. He did this to himself when he tried to hurt you.” Again, Jensen kissed Jared, pulling him against his chest as he turned his attention to the police officers sitting on the couch across from them. “Are we finished here?” he asked, wanting this all to be over so he could make Jared feel better and get him to bed.

Slowly, the officers nodded, moving to stand before they headed towards the door. “We’ll be in touch,” Officer Smith assured the two men before he and his partner were out the door, closing it softly behind them. Once they were out of the house, they climbed into their patrol car and drove off towards the hospital, needing to make sure that if David survived, he didn’t get away because he was going to be taken in for attempted rape. Obviously, there were going to be no charges brought up on Jared because he had just been defending himself; the house and Jared’s disarrayed state were proof of that. Not to mention that the EMTs could smell the liquor on David as they wheeled him out of the house.

When the cops were gone, both Mike and Tom stood to leave, expressing their apologies for Jared and letting the younger man know they would see him tomorrow. Jared thanked them for their support before they were gone as well, leaving Jensen and Jared alone in the house. Tomorrow was a school day, so Jared knew they should be going to bed, but that was the last thing on his mind right now. The only thing he could think about was the fact that he could have possibly just killed a man. And sure, Jensen could say that it wasn’t his fault, but Jared had been the one to kick him off the bed and onto the knife – as far as he was concerned, that made it his fault.

Once they were alone again, Jensen gently nudged Jared to get him to sit up a little bit. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” he suggested softly, moving to stand before pulling Jared up with him. He led Jared to the bathroom, having him take a seat on the toilet so he could work. The first order of business was getting the tears off Jared’s cheeks. Jensen wet a washcloth so he could wipe Jared’s cheeks clean. When that was finished, Jensen coaxed Jared into letting him get the tattered shirt on Jared’s body off. “Here baby,” he whispered, pulling one side down Jared’s arm before he did the same to the other. “Let’s get these clothes off you and get you cleaned up, all right?”

As soon as Jensen got the nod from Jared, he started stripping the younger man out of his sweat pants, leaving Jared only in his boxers as he started the shower water and stripped himself out of his clothes as well. Once he was naked, he pulled Jared’s boxers off and helped him into the shower, worried that Jared was in shock because of what happened. He couldn’t begin to imagine how Jared could be feeling right now, but he was worried about him. After all, Jared may have quite possibly taken a human life tonight and Jensen wasn’t sure what there was that he could do to make Jared feel better. For now though, he was just going to do his best to get Jared back on his feet. So, that meant he needed to get Jared showered and then off to bed. Tomorrow, everything would be better.

His movements were slow as he helped Jared into the shower, making sure that Jared felt safe with him. He gently ran his fingers through Jared’s hair when they got into the shower, letting his boyfriend lean on him as he sobbed, Jensen whispering soothing words into Jared’s ear. It lasted for about ten minutes before Jared had finally cried himself out and Jensen could get him washed. Jensen didn’t waste any time getting Jared out of the shower and dressed in new sweats and a new T-shirt once he was finished bathing the younger man. “All right baby, let’s get you into bed.”

However, when Jensen tried to get Jared into his bedroom so they could get some sleep, Jared protested, grabbing Jensen’s arm and keeping him in the hallway as Jared stared at the blood on his floor. “I-I can’t…stay here,” he mumbled with a shake of his head. “Please, can we go somewhere else? Can we just…go sleep at your place tonight? I promise I’ll be really quiet and no one will even know I’m there, Jen, please?” he begged, fresh tears springing to his eyes. After everything that happened here, Jared couldn’t be here. And he surely couldn’t sleep here. 

Although Jensen wasn’t too keen on the idea of having Jared at his house, in his bedroom, where anyone could see them and know that something was going on, he could see how Jared wouldn’t want to be here after everything that had happened with David. Sighing, he nodded, pulling Jared against him again. “Okay baby, all right, shhh…” he whispered softly, rubbing up and down Jared’s back to soothe him. “We’ll go back to my house, okay? Just…calm down. We can go now, okay?” Slowly, he started walking Jared down the stairs, frowning when Jared tried to go back up the stairs, the younger man complaining that he needed clothes for the next day at school.

“You’re not going to school tomorrow,” Jensen argued with Jared, continuing to lead Jared down the stairs. Before Jared could argue anymore, Jensen quickly shook his head. “Don’t even think about arguing with me, Jay. You’ve been through a lot and I don’t want you to have to go in there tomorrow and have to answer questions. I mean, David’s lackeys have probably already been told about the incident, in David’s words no doubt, and I don’t want people to bother you about it.” Grabbing his bag from the floor in front of the door where he’d dropped it when he came in, Jensen added, “I’m going to take care of you for the next few days, and you’re going to let me do it without arguing with me.”

In spite of everything that was going through his head right now, Jared smiled at the idea of Jensen wanting to take care of him. "All right,” he whispered, giving his head a small nod to let Jensen know that he would do what he wanted him to do. “I’ll let you take care of me for a few days. But I’m not going to be missing too much school. I can handle it when people start asking me questions.” Smiling wider, Jared added, “Though I do like the idea of you taking care of me.” He chuckled when Jensen pulled him into a hug and pressed their lips together. “I _really_ like the idea of you taking care of me.”

Once they were in the car, Jensen sped off towards his house, texting Josh that he was on his way home, though a part of him was hoping that his older brother had already gone to bed. He knew that Katie was spending the night because she and Josh had some early classes the next morning, but that didn’t mean that they were in bed yet. When they got to Jensen’s house, he quickly headed to the door, holding it open for Jared to walk in. True to his word, Jared was so quiet, Jensen almost forgot that he was following him up the stairs like a lost puppy. 

It felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders when they made it into Jensen’s room, Jensen quickly closing the door behind them and leading Jared to the bed. “All right, let’s get you into bed,” he smiled, pressing another kiss to Jared’s lips as he pushed him down onto the bed gently. “I’ll tell Josh tomorrow that I’m sick and then we can be here all day tomorrow; time to ourselves to get over what happened tonight.”

A small frown came to Jared’s lips when Jensen told him that they would spend tomorrow getting over what happened earlier. “Do you think I can…get over it?” Jared asked, biting into his bottom lip as he met Jensen’s eyes. “I mean…I almost killed him, Jensen. And I don’t know…how I’m supposed to get over something like that. I don’t know how I _can_ get over something like that.”

As Jensen sat on the bed, he wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist, pulling the younger man down to lie next to him before he pressed his lips to Jared neck, then shoulder. “You’re going to get over it because you have me here to help you,” he assured his boyfriend. “I’m not going to let you beat yourself up over this, baby. David got what he deserved – hell, if I had been there sooner and I caught him in the act, I would have _killed_ him, Jay. And I’m not joking. I would have taken his knife from his hands and stabbed him myself because he was trying to hurt you.” Much to his surprise, Jensen was actually telling the truth; he didn’t know what that meant, but he wasn’t going to hash that out right now.

Slowly, Jared turned in Jensen’s arms so that they were facing each other. “Really?” he asked, licking his lips before he bit into the bottom lip. He couldn’t believe that Jensen would actually hurt someone if he saw them trying to hurt Jared. Another smile came to his lips when Jensen nodded, the younger man leaning in and kissing Jensen’s lips. It was soft at first, just a slight press of lips before the kiss deepened, became hungrier. Jared moaned softly as the kiss continued, wrapping his arms around Jensen’s neck and pulling his lover closer. “Mmm…Jen,” he mumbled, moaning once more when Jensen nipped his bottom lip as they pulled apart for a moment to catch their breath. “Kiss-Kiss me again,” he whispered as he leaned in again, capturing Jensen’s lips as another moan was swallowed up in their kiss.

Jensen was perfectly happy kissing Jared all night, but this was getting heated and he had a feeling that he knew where this was going. And it was understandable after what happened, Jared wanting to be with Jensen to get the memory of David off of him, but they couldn’t have sex – not here. His brother and his girlfriend were in the next room and then his sister was in the room down the hall. Anyone could hear them because Jared wasn’t exactly quiet while they were having sex. “Baby…mmm…wait,” he mumbled, turning his head to the side so his lips were free and Jared was now attacking his neck and shoulder. “We can’t do this. Not here, not now, Jay. Someone might hear us.”

Nodding, Jared breathed, “I know that. I’m not…I mean…I just want you to kiss me. To…touch me, please?” He took Jensen’s hand in his own and pressed it against his chest before he moved in closer. “Just hold me,” he begged, cheek pressing against Jensen’s chest for a moment before he tilted his head upwards and kissed Jensen again, moaning softly as the kiss was returned. His fingers fisted in Jensen’s hair, pulling the older man closer as the kiss deepened, both boys moaning softly into the other’s mouth. 

By the time the kiss ended, both men were panting, Jensen pulling Jared tight against his chest, holding him as Jared had asked him to. They could be more intimate if Jared wanted to be tomorrow when Josh and Katie were off running their errands and Mackenzie was at school. But for right now, Jensen was content just holding Jared, his hand running up and down the younger man’s side as he tried to calm his boyfriend. “We should get some sleep,” he whispered, eyes ticking to the clock briefly to see that it was after two in the morning already. He didn’t know why it mattered since they weren’t going to school tomorrow, but he figured they still needed to get some sleep. After all, even if they weren’t going to school, they still had to get up at a decent hour.

Only when Jensen heard Jared’s breathing even out and felt the steady rise and fall of Jared’s chest against his side did Jensen let himself fall asleep. Jared had been through something traumatic and Jensen just hoped that he was strong enough to get him through it without hurting the younger man more. After all, Mike had told Tom about the last relationship Jared had with a man who was in the closet about his sexuality, and Jensen didn’t want this to end up like that. But with that being said, he wasn’t ready to tell the world about them yet, either. He was torn on what to do. Part of him was saying that he should just leave Jared now and spare the younger man the heartache later, but another part – a bigger part – was telling him that he needed to stay. That part was telling him that he was already too far in this and there was no way he could leave Jared now; not with the way he felt about him.

**~~**

Graduation was only a few days away and Jensen was counting the minutes. He was so tired of school and everything that was going on with the kids there. Jared was getting bullied almost every day and Jensen was worried that he was going to expose himself by protecting the younger man. But he couldn’t just sit back and let the other kids call Jared names like “murderer,” and “whore.” Jared was neither of those things. David was still alive and kicking, unfortunately, so he sure as hell wasn’t a murderer. And if the stupid bullies would use their heads, they would know that something was off about the situation because David was behind bars for attempted rape! Sometimes the stupidity of people really amazed Jensen.

Now, Jensen was driving Jared home because one of David’s lackeys had taken it upon himself to attack the younger man, and Jensen stepped in to stop it. They had all been sent home for the day because they had been fighting and Jensen was pissed. That idiot Jake had no right to touch Jared and Jensen hoped that he broke his damn nose when he punched him. “David needs to fucking learn how to control his little friends, even if he is behind bars. I swear to God, if one more of them does anything to you, I’m going to break his damn jaw.” This wasn’t the first time one of them had attacked Jared, after all. Just last week, Jensen had to take Jared to the ER because he had bruised ribs. It was getting ridiculous.

“Don’t get yourself in trouble over me,” Jared mumbled with a small shake of his head. “I’ll be fine, Jen.” And he would be. Jensen didn’t need to get involved in this. “If you do something stupid because of this, they have the right to not let you graduate. And you’ve worked so hard to get your grades up. I don’t want to mess that up for you.” Jensen was actually going to graduate with a B average, and Jared didn’t want to hold him back from doing that because of something so stupid.

Pulling the car into Jared’s driveway, Jensen cut the engine before turning his attention to Jared. “The only reason I’m graduating is because of you,” he assured Jared. “If you hadn’t agreed to be my partner on that project, I wouldn’t have gotten an A on it, and I would have failed English. And I’m not going to let them get away with treating you like this. They have no right to touch you. They can’t even _look_ at you as far as I’m concerned.” He knew he was being a bit possessive, but there had to be someplace where he drew the line with these idiots. One had even tried to feel Jared up in the bathroom, for crying out loud! And Jensen was just supposed to sit back and do nothing? Well, that wasn’t happening. 

Once they were in Jared’s house, the plopped down onto the couch, Jared turning on the television as he snuggled into Jensen’s side. They had all day now to just hang out, so they might as well spend it curled up together. “Thank you,” Jared mumbled after a few minutes, looking up at Jensen from where his head was resting on his shoulder. “No one’s ever treated me as well as you’ve been treating me and I really appreciate it.” Sure, they were boyfriends, but none of his other boyfriends had ever been this good to him, so Jared felt the need to thank Jensen. After all, Jensen had done so much for him these last few weeks and Jared really did appreciate it.

He smiled down at Jared as he nodded, Jensen pulling Jared into a brief, light kiss. “You’re welcome, baby,” he whispered. “But you don’t have to thank me. I’m your boyfriend, so of course I’m going to take care of you.” No one got away with hurting Jared unless they wanted to deal with Jensen too. And most people didn’t think it was worth the punch in the mouth, so they just left him alone. Everyone except those idiots who followed David around like they were his little puppies, anyway. 

Jared shrugged when Jensen told him that they were boyfriends, giving his head a small shake. “Well, no one else knows that, so I just figured…I don’t know…maybe that you’d just turn the other way. I mean, that’s what David did when we were dating because he didn’t want to get exposed.” Of course, Jensen was nothing like David, so Jared wasn’t even sure why he brought that up. It probably had something to do with the fact that he wanted to tell everyone that he was dating Jensen Ackles, but he couldn’t and he was just get frustrated. Even Tom and Mike had come out as a couple finally because Tom didn’t care what other people thought anymore. He was going off to college and he was going to tell the world that he and Mike were together. Jared supposed he just wanted that, too.

A small frown came to Jensen’s lips at Jared’s words, the older man wondering what Jared was trying to get at. He knew that Jared wanted them to come out as a couple, and Jensen hadn’t been ready before, but now he thought he might be ready. After all, he was about to graduate and head off to college and he knew Jared wasn’t going anywhere – he didn’t want Jared to go anywhere, anyway. “You know what, I want you to come over to my house tonight for dinner,” Jensen explained, pressing his cheek to the top of Jared’s head. “I’m ready to tell my family about us, baby.”

When Jensen told him that he was ready to tell his family about them, Jared didn’t know what to say. “You…want to tell them about us?” he asked with a small smile. “For real?” His smile only widened when Jensen nodded, Jared quickly moving to capture Jensen’s lips, tongue pressing into Jensen’s mouth and tangling with Jensen’s own. He couldn’t believe that Jensen was finally ready to come out of the closet and they were going to be a couple to the public now. “Mmm…are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, not wanting Jensen to just tell his family because he thought that’s what Jensen wanted. 

“Yes, I’m sure I want to do this,” Jensen assured Jared, smiling when his lover leaned in to press his lips to his again. He moaned softly into the younger man’s mouth, one arm wrapping around Jared’s waist, pulling him closer. “I think it’s about time to let everyone know, don’t you? I mean, we’ve been together for four months and I don’t want to lose you.” Again, he kissed Jared, the younger man moving impossibly closer to him, Jared’s hand fisting in Jensen’s hair. 

By the time the kiss ended, both men were panting, Jared quickly shaking his head. “You’re not going to lose me, babe,” he promised, licking his lips as he ran his hand down Jensen’s chest, resting it on his heart. “I can’t even imagine my life without you now. I…I love you, Jen.” He knew that it may have been a little early to say it, but Jared knew how he felt and he knew what he wanted. “I’m sorry if I freaked you out, or something, but I can’t –”

Before Jared could finish his sentence, Jensen crushed their lips together again, not wanting Jared to doubt for a second that he had done the right thing just now. “Don’t think that you freaked me out,” he mumbled, giving his head a small shake. “Because you didn’t. I want you to tell me what you’re feeling.” Again, Jensen captured Jared’s lips with his own, sucking the younger man’s bottom lip into his mouth briefly before he pulled back once more. “I love you too,” he admitted, knowing that was the only explanation as to how protective he was of Jared. And the fact that he was ready to tell his family that he and Jared were dating was just more testimony to that fact.

When Jensen told him that he loved him, Jared’s eyes widened, the younger man clearly shocked. “You do?” he asked, worried for a minute that he was just dreaming Jensen had said those words and it wasn’t true. However, when Jensen nodded, Jared knew his mind hadn’t been playing tricks on him. A wide smile came to Jared’s lips as he pulled back a little more, looking down at his clothes. “I should change,” he muttered, already moving to get off the couch and heading up the stairs where he could pick the perfect outfit for tonight. After all, he’d never met Josh before and he wanted to make a good impression.

Smirking, Jensen climbed off the couch and followed Jared up the stairs, wrapping his arms around the younger man’s waist as he pressed his lips to Jared’s neck, holding Jared in place for a moment. “You should shower,” he suggested, his cock twitching in his jeans at the thought of taking a shower with Jared. “We both should.” Luckily, Jared got the hidden suggestion and he smiled, nodding to let Jensen know he agreed with him. 

**~~**

About two hours later, Jensen and Jared were sitting on the couch with their fingers laced together, staring at Josh, Mackenzie, and Katie as they waited for their reactions. Jensen had just blurted out that he and Jared were dating at the dinner table, and he thought Jared was going to choke on his corn. On the bright side, his family hadn’t reacted badly, so Jensen thought there was a chance they weren’t going to care. After all, his brother and his sister had always been supportive of him in everything he did, and he was hoping the same applied to who he chose to date.

Josh couldn’t speak. He felt his mouth moving, but the words were just not coming out. He had been under the impression that Jensen was interested in Danneel Harris, and now he was dating Jared. This was just testimony to the fact that Jensen hadn’t been around much lately and it made Josh’s heart ache. Still, he had no problem with Jensen dating a man if that’s what he wanted to do. And he’d heard Mackenzie talking about Jared on more than one occasion and he was pretty pleased with what he knew about Jared already. “Well, as long as you’re happy, then I’m happy for you,” Josh finally answered, smiling at his little brother.

He let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding when Josh told him he was happy for him, one arm wrapping around Jared’s waist as he smiled widely. “I’m definitely happy,” he assured his brother, grunting softly in surprise when Mackenzie came over and gave them both big hugs. His smile only widened when he heard Jared laughing because he could tell how happy Jared was that they were finally an official couple. Jensen may have been graduating in a few days and he had no clue what his future was going to hold for him once he was in college, but he did know that right here and right now, he was the happiest man on Earth.


End file.
